Medical journal The Lancet has criticised the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for lacking transparency, making too many grants to recipients in rich nations and not focusing its resources on the greatest health needs. The latest edition of the journal has published an analysis of Gates Foundation grants from 1998 to 2007, along with commentary on the findings.
The analysis revealed that much of the foundation's research and development grants have been awarded to institutions and universities in high-income nations. It was observed that the foundation focused too heavily on selected diseases like malaria, even while other diseases may exact a greater toll. Particularly, the Lancet commentary directs toward a poor correlation between the foundation's funding and childhood disease priorities.
The journal, however, praised the foundation for its contributions to global health. According to the report, general awareness and funding have been increased. The report specifically cites the foundation's initial gift of $750 million made in 1999 to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), and the founding of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, as significant accomplishments.
In a statement released in response to the Lancet article, the Gates Foundation has welcomed this article and its findings. The foundation claims to be the world's largest private philanthropy organisation with assets of nearly $27.5 billion, as of April 1, 2009. It has three primary programme areas - global health, global development and US programmes.
