Thursday, December 18, 2003
Public Health & Education
The University of Montreal on Tuesday announced that it has received a $12 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fund reproductive health initiatives in French-speaking countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa's News24 reports (News24, 12/17). The 10-year program, which will be run jointly with the University of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, will finance a new master's degree program in public health with an emphasis on reproductive and child health. In addition, the grant will provide funding for short-term training seminars for experts from throughout Africa and doctoral fellowships for African students who want to study at the University of Montreal, the Associated Press reports. According to a University of Montreal press release, population and health research and service programs in sub-Saharan Africa "are hindered by a scarcity of well-trained health professionals," the Associated Press reports. Approximately 30 million people in the region are living with HIV/AIDS (Associated Press, 12/16). In addition, the Gates Foundation on Wednesday announced a $10 million grant to the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute to continue its research on a vaccine to prevent malaria in pregnant women, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports (AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 12/17).
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