Raising the priorities of disease prevention

been working closely with organizations all over the world to facilitate their efforts in getting vaccines made and distributed. Bringing with her many years of experience in vaccine development in the industrial sector, Liu is " excited about being at an organization that has really helped to catalyze a change in the whole mentality about vaccines. " " As a researcher trying to develop a vaccine you hope that you can improve peoples' lives. It can be frustrating to feel that the priorities of prevention are so low on the radar screen that with more adequate resources and attention so much more could be done, " says Liu. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, currently the largest charitable foundation in the world, has put vaccines high on its list of priorities. To date the foundation has invested over $1 billion in vaccine development and immunization programs. The foundation's approach has been to support very focused approaches to vaccine development and to give large sums to get the job done. The largest donation to date has been to the Global Fund for Children's Vaccines to support the immunization of children in developing countries through the purchase of new and under-used vaccines: the foundation's pledge stands at $750 million over the next five years. The foundation supports mainly diseases that are neglected by commercial entities. " A goodly number of critical diseases are being addressed, and diseases that do not command global attention but which are devastating in a number of developing countries, are now receiving attention, " says Liu. For example, one applied research program, currently financed by the foundation to the tune of $40 million is called Disease of the Most Impoverished (DOMI). DOMI is based at the new International Vaccine Institute in Seoul, Korea. The foundation's funds will be used for the development and introduction of vaccines against cholera, dysentery, and typhoid. Another example was the announcement in January of a $100 million donation to the International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) for the development of an AIDS vaccine. The vaccine is one of many AIDS vaccines being tested on humans around the world but the first to target the 'A' strain of the HIV virus, which is prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa. Other major focuses of the foundation include new delivery systems and entities that are going to make vaccines more broadly available. According to Liu, there are a number …