AsianScientist (Oct. 28, 2011) – The Chinese Government’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced this Wednesday a partnership to support innovative R&D for global health and agriculture.
At the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing, Mr. Zhang Laiwu, Vice Minister of MOST, and Mr. Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation, affirmed their commitment to focus on innovation that meets the needs of developing countries and advances progress toward the Millennium Development Goals.
“Innovation to advance human welfare is a goal that China shares with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,” said Zhang. “Together we can do more to improve agriculture and health in some of the poorest nations.”
According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, the US$300 million project will support selected China-grown products and technologies that can help advance health and agriculture. MOST will match US$2 as grant money for every dollar given by the Gates foundation.
“This partnership demonstrates the critical role that rapidly growing countries like China can play in driving innovation to reduce hunger and poverty,” said Gates. “China’s support to bring its power and capacity to bear on global health and agriculture research and production comes at a critical time in our world economic situation.”
Under the MOU, a joint committee will identify and co-fund projects that promote the development of new global health products, improve agricultural inputs, support low-cost manufacturing of health and agricultural products, and develop IT for rural areas and agricultural and health applications.
Human and animal vaccines, diagnostics for TB and other diseases, hardier varieties of rice and other crops, and more productive livestock are among the innovations likely to be considered first.
The MOU also aims ultimately to leverage additional investment from the public and private sectors towards the goals of this partnership.
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Source: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Photo: Steve Harris/World Bank.
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