The Monitor (Kampala)
Evelyn Lirri
22 October 2009
Two Ugandan scientists are the lucky recipients of a $100,000 (about 188 million) grant from the Bill Gates Foundation to undertake research in malaria.
Dr Thomas Egwang and Ms Margaret Ngoroge Mendi from the Med Biotech Laboratories in Kampala will focus their research on "maternal immunisation to protect infants against malaria."
Malaria kills close to 300 people daily, especially children under five years.
Med Biotech Laboratories said in a statement yesterday that the grant is part of a $100 million, five year initiative called the Grand Challenges Explorations that aims at promoting innovations in global health. It is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
"The initiative is to help scientists around the world explore bold and largely unproven ways to improve health in developing countries," the statement reads in part.
The initiative is highly competitive and this year, about 3,000 proposals were received from a wide range of researchers from various disciplines including chemistry, bio-engineering, electronics, mechanical engineering, infectious disease, and epidemiology.
The statement quotes Dr Egwang saying their project will focus on immunising future mothers against malaria or any other diseases before they become pregnant and boosting that immunisation after delivery in order to provide passive and active immunity, through breast-feeding, to their infants.
Purpose of the grant
In a separate press statement, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said the grant will help in undertaking research that can transform the health of people in developing countries.
"The grants support researchers in 16 countries with ideas as diverse as developing an electronic nose to diagnose tuberculosis and using chocolate to help prevent malaria," the statement said.
"Some of the biggest stumbling blocks in global health are now being overcome with promising new vaccines and treatments," said Dr Tachi Yamada, president of the Gates Foundation's Global Health Programme.
Since the initiative started, 262 researchers from 30 countries have so far been awarded grants to undertake research projects in health including developing a paper cup that turns TB-positive sputum samples into bright orange, using a peptide found in scorpions to block development of the malaria parasite among others.
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