Gates grants €27.9m to British Aids charity

A British Aids charity has received the lion's share of a €55.9m grant from the world's richest man to help prevent the spread of the disease.

The International HIV/Aids Alliance receives €27.9m of the package announced by Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Mr Gates announced the grant from his foundation as he addressed business leaders and politicians at the World Economic Forum in New York.

The British charity is to spend the cash on projects to prevent the spread of HIV, among prostitutes, drug abusers and the gay community in Cambodia, Ecuador, India and Madagascar.

Mr Gates said: "Innovative initiatives like these channel resources to those most at risk of contracting and spreading HIV have proven their effectiveness.

"By lowering HIV infection rates through effective prevention programmes, millions of lives have been saved in countries like Thailand, Senegal and Uganda."

The €27.9m boost to the charity's Frontiers Prevention Project was welcomed by chief executive Jeff O'Malley.

He said: "With the support of the foundation's funding, the Frontiers Prevention Project is now in a position to test and demonstrate the impact of comprehensive community action on HIV/Aids, and promote attention to HIV/Aids where increased action now could a very serious problems later."

The €55.9m announced by Mr Gates came as he called for increased spending on health projects in the developing world.

"Expert consensus is developing that increasing health spending is essential not only to improving the health of the world's poor, but also to promoting economic and social progress," he said.