PHOTOS: Philanthropy during a public health crisis has shaped the history of human society

Lessons from pivotal moments in previous health crises, in a series of evocative photos
Curated By: Madhu Kapparath
Published: Nov 28, 2020
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Image by : JUDA NGWENYA / REUTERS

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MALARIA AND A MODIFIED MOSQUITO

Philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates have committed more than $2.9 billion in grants to combat malaria, their top priority. Their foundation recently partnered with Oxitec, a biotech company that develops genetically-modified male mosquitoes that kill off future generations of malaria-transmitting bugs. With the advent of Covid-19, Gates recently cautioned against the disruption of essential malaria prevention and treatment services in many parts of Africa. The pandemic has made it difficult for health workers to deliver supplies of essential malaria tools—like bed nets, anti-malaria medicines, and rapid diagnostic tests—that have been instrumental in cutting malaria deaths by more than half since 2000. In Benin, a country in West Africa, with one of the highest burdens of malaria in the world, the Foundation found innovative ways to distribute bed nets across the country, using smartphones, real time data collection, and satellite mapping.