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The aim is to save many of the millions of lives lost each year to malaria, tuberculosis, malnutrition and other pressing health problems, Mr. [Gates] said in announcing the grant yesterday at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. In speaking there, Mr. Gates, the founder of Microsoft, underscored the effects of poor health in stifling the economies of developing countries. In creating the grant, Mr. Gates said he had been inspired by the success of a German, David Hilbert, who challenged his fellow mathematicians in 1900 to solve 23 problems over the next century. Dr. Hilbert's challenge led to mathematical breakthroughs, opened up fields of study and contributed to the development of computers. Mr. Gates said he hoped ''to draw in a lot of talent that hasn't been aware of what could make a huge difference in terms of world health.'' For example, he said, ''even scientists who work in different realms will now see that things like preventing mosquitoes from being a delivery vector'' for diseases like malaria, dengue and West Nile fever ''would be a phenomenal thing.''

The aim is to save many of the millions of lives lost each year to malaria, tuberculosis, malnutrition and other pressing health problems, Bill Gates said in announcing the grant yesterday at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. In speaking there, Gates, the founder of Microsoft, underscored the effects of poor health in stifling the economies of developing countries. Gates said he hoped 'to draw in a lot of talent that hasn't been aware of what could make a huge difference in terms of world health.' For example, he said, 'even scientists who work in different realms will now see that things like preventing mosquitoes from being a delivery vector' for diseases like malaria, dengue and West Nile fever 'would be a phenomenal thing.' 1 PIC; Bill Gates, Microsoft founder and co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said he hopes a $200 million grant will help eliminate many causes of death in poorer nations.; Credit: Michel Euler / Associated Press

In recent years, many expert panels have warned that budget cuts were causing the public health system in the United States to crumble. On top of traditional services for mothers and children, health departments have had to apply more sophisticated laboratory techniques and newer methods to counter the resurgence of tuberculosis and to keep other infectious diseases in check. The latest demands involve a vaccine that few practicing doctors have ever given because the United States abandoned it as a routine in 1972, eight years before smallpox was eradicated from the world. Now health departments must train workers in how to use two-pronged needles to administer the vaccine and recognize its many complications, some of which are rare but potentially lethal. The vaccine, which is made from a live virus that is a cousin to smallpox, is the most dangerous human immunization. Experts have predicted that some recipients will have sore arms and suffer flulike symptoms that will keep them home from work and that a few will have much more serious reactions. Some people are advised to forgo vaccination unless there is a terrorist attack. Among them are those with weakened immune systems or a history of eczema or atopic dermatitis, two common skin conditions. Dr. Elizabeth McNeill, the chief medical officer of the Pima County Health Department in Tucson, Arizona, said she had a hard time justifying putting so many resources into smallpox vaccinations. I don't see a tangible benefit, she said. In other words, there is no case of smallpox out there

Many local health departments across the nation say they will have to curtail an array of services, including cancer and tuberculosis screenings and children's dental check-ups, to meet the needs of President Bush's federal smallpox vaccination program

WASHINGTON - Many local health departments across the nation say they will have to curtail an array of services, including cancer and tuberculosis screening and children's dental examinations, to meet the needs of President Bush's federal smallpox vaccination program. The Bush administration has requested that health departments administer smallpox vaccine to health care workers on a voluntary basis. Local health departments are responsible for giving smallpox vaccinations in two stages. In the first, which is expected to begin this month and last about 60 days, up to 500,000 civilian health care and emergency workers will be vaccinated. In the second, up to 10 million health care workers, police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians will be offered the vaccine. The latest demands involve a vaccine that few practicing doctors have ever given because the United States abandoned it as a routine in 1972, eight years before smallpox was eradicated from the world. Now health departments must train workers how to use two-pronged needles to administer the vaccine and recognize its many complications, some rare but potentially lethal

Many local health departments across the nation say they will have to curtail an array of services, including cancer and tuberculosis screening and children's dental examinations, to meet the needs of President Bush's federal smallpox vaccination program. The Bush administration requested that health departments administer smallpox vaccine to health care workers on a voluntary basis. Local health departments are responsible for giving the vaccinations in two stages. In the first, expected to begin this month and last about 60 days, up to 500,000 civilian health care and emergency workers will be vaccinated. In the second, up to 10 million health care workers, police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians will be offered the vaccine. Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the New York City health commissioner, said he expected the impact to be severe. 'While we appreciate the federal government's support for bioterrorism preparedness, the vaccination drive will be extraordinarily disruptive to our day-to- day work of protecting the public's health,' Frieden said

In the past, [Thabo Mbeki] and his aides have questioned the safety, effectiveness and costs of the drugs, as well as questioned the very connection between HIV and AIDS. He also has emphasized the difficulties that many Africans experience in taking the complicated regimens of multiple drugs a day. Mbeki has stressed the importance of reducing poverty, calling it a major factor in producing the AIDS epidemic, and urging improvement in the diet of poor people. The AIDS epidemic began to mushroom when Mbeki was vice president in the administration of Nelson Mandela. That administration did little to control the AIDS epidemic. But in recent years, Mandela has spoken out on AIDS and exerted considerable pressure on the government, and foreign countries, to do more to improve the quality of life for infected South Africans. Yesterday, the cabinet said that country could afford to provide anti-HIV drugs at a cost that is estimated at from $2.3 billion to $2.8 billion a year by 2010

Many health departments across the nation say they will have to curtail an array of services, including cancer and tuberculosis screening and children's dental examinations, to meet the needs of President Bush's federal smallpox vaccination program. The Bush administration has requested that health departments administer smallpox vaccine to health-care workers on a voluntary basis. Local health departments are responsible for giving smallpox vaccinations in two stages. In the first, which is expected to begin this month and last about 60 days, up to 500,000 civilian health-care and emergency workers will be vaccinated. In the second, up to 10 million health-care workers, police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians will be offered the vaccine

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is giving $200 million to identify critical questions about the leading causes of death in developing countries and to create an international competition for scientists to solve them. The aim is to save many of the millions of lives lost each year to the world's most pressing health problems, like malaria, tuberculosis and nutritional deficiencies, [Gates] said in announcing the grant Sunday at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. In speaking there, Gates, founder of Microsoft, underscored the importance of poor health as a handicap to improving the economies of developing countries. In creating the grant, Gates said he was inspired by the success of a German, David Hilbert, who in 1900 challenged his fellow mathematicians to solve 23 problems over the following century

Local health departments are responsible for giving smallpox vaccinations in two stages. In the first, which is expected to begin this month and last about 60 days, up to 500,000 civilian health- care and emergency workers will be vaccinated. In the second, up to 10 million health-care workers, police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians will be offered the vaccine