Melinda Gates urges donors to keep aiding fight against child mortality
Ending epidemics of infectious diseases is proving tough, Melinda and Bill Gates say, but dramatic progress made by global aid mechanisms in recent decades are bearing fruit
London — Donating billions of dollars to global funds that fight poverty and disease is one of the best investments governments can make to boost security and economic growth, philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates said on Thursday. Ending epidemics of infectious diseases such as malaria, polio, HIV/AIDS and malaria is proving tough, they said, but dramatic progress made by global aid mechanisms in recent decades means the world's people are now healthier and more productive. “The data has been really striking,” Melinda Gates told reporters on a teleconference. She cited figures from the World Health Organisation and others showing that since 1990, mortality rates of children under five years old had fallen more than 50%, and deaths due to infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and measles had also halved. “A child born today is half as likely to die before the age of five, compared to if she were born in 2000,” Melinda Gates said. "The human and economic benefits of this are...
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