The Gates Foundation Makes a Bold, $10 Billion Pledge for Vaccines

"We must make this the decade of vaccines," declared business tycoon turned philanthropist Bill Gates today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "Vaccines already save and improve millions of lives in developing countries. Innovation will make it possible to save more children than ever before."

To put some force behind those statements, Gates, founder of software empire Microsoft (MSFT), and his wife Melinda also announced that their Gates Foundation will commit $10 billion over the next 10 years to help research, develop and deliver vaccines for the world's poorest countries. The new funding is in addition to the $4.5 billion that the foundation has already committed to vaccines to date.