The Global Reach of the Gates Foundation
Gaborone, Botswana
In the fight against AIDS, the foundation, along with the global-health community, estimates that new HIV infections could be cut in half by 2015. A massive, multipronged attack includes offering safe-sex classes, providing antiretroviral treatments for those with HIV, and the holy grail of AIDS researchers worldwide — finding an AIDS vaccine. In Botswana, where it is estimated that one-quarter of the adult population is affected by the disease, the Gateses have teamed with the government of Botswana and the Merck Company Foundation to fund the African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships (ACHAP), which also takes in the Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute, above, a highly advanced research lab dedicated to HIV prevention, its treatment and the development of a vaccine.