Gates and Britain pledge €1.6bn to vaccinate poor

BRITAIN and Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates have joined forces to pledge more than half of the €2.6 billion sought to vaccinate nearly 250 million children against preventable diseases.

Prime Minister David Cameron told a donors’ conference in London Britain would contribute €920 million to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), an aid group backed by Gates.

Cameron said the extra funds would help treat 80 million children against pneumonia and diarrhoea, and save 1.4 million lives.