Bill Gates, Abu Dhabi prince pledge vaccine funds

Jan 27, 2011

Bill Gates, Abu Dhabi prince pledge vaccine funds (AP) — This is a Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008 file photo provided by Microsoft, of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, left, Bono, and Michael Dell founder and Chairman of Dell Inc., introduce a series of Dell RED personal computers powered by Windows Vista Ultimate, in Davos, Switzerland. When consumers buy one of these PCs, Dell and Microsoft will contribute a total of $50 to $80, depending on the model, to The Global Fund to help in the fight against AIDS in Africa. A nearly $22 billion development fund backed by celebrities and hailed as an alternative to the bureaucracy of the United Nations sees as much as one-third to two-thirds of some grants eaten up by corruption, The Associated Press has learned. (AP Photo/Microsoft, Remy Steinegger)

(AP) -- Bill Gates' foundation and Abu Dhabi's crown prince are donating $50 million each to vaccinate children in Afghanistan and Pakistan against polio and other diseases.

Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation say two-thirds of the funds will go toward a pair of vaccines against pneumonia, diphtheria, whooping cough and other ailments afflicting young children in Afghanistan. The rest will be given to the World Health Organization and UNICEF to provide polio vaccines in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Gates recently told The Associated Press eradicating polio is his top priority, and that he's planning to announce a major donation to the effort in Davos, Switzerland on Friday.

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