Continuing their generous and aggressive giving pace, Bill and Melinda Gates contributed an additional $15.8 billion to the foundation in 1999. Their gifts raised the endowment to approximately $17 billion at the close of 1999, a vast philanthropic resource by any standard. However, when placed in the context of national and global challenges, it becomes clear that long term, systemic change will result only from highly focused and strategic grantmaking. 1999 Priorities Extend the availability of existing vaccines to the world's poorest children Eliminating Polio The Multiplier Effect A global effort to eradicate polio is on the verge of success. Millions of children will be saved from a lifetime of paralysis. The fruits of this collaborative effort, led by WHO and Rotary International, extend beyond the demise of a single disease. By ending the threat of polio for all people, for all time, funds that would have been spent preventing and treating polio can be allocated to other public health goals. A $50 million grant by the foundation will primarily be used to strengthen the vaccine delivery infrastructure and to track where the disease is occurring, creating scaffolding that will be used in subsequent infectious disease control efforts. To learn more, visit www.polioeradication.org Every year, approximately 3 million children and adults die from diseases preventable by vaccines we have today. About one half of the children in sub-Saharan Africa have no access to routine immunization services. The other half receives a basic package of vaccines that does not include the standard immunization against hepatitis B, meningitis, and pneumonia, vaccines provided routinely to children in Europe and America. Vaccines provide the single most powerful strategy to improve the health and extend the lives of the world's children. Extending the reach of existing vaccines and developing new ones are the foundation's top priority. Research and develop new vaccines to prevent malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS This devastating trio accounts for 5 million deaths each year. HIV/AIDS has killed the parents of 60,000 orphans in Africa alone. The annual financial burden of malaria has been estimated to be as high as $4.5 billion. Preventive vaccines would not only save lives, but also ease the crushing burden these diseases place on the social and economic infrastructure of afflicted countries. Address women's reproductive health needs Reproductive health care is the primary health need of women, yet limited resources in developing countries, combined with women's economic and social position, often deprive women of access to the care they need and want. Increasing access to voluntary family planning services, providing emergency obstetrical care to enable women to safely carry and deliver babies, and preventing cervical cancer are examples of the kinds of work supported by the foundation. Building Support for Libraries To ensure that grants have the net effect of raising local support for libraries, we require that grant applications include a signed commitment from the appropriate authority that funds will not be reallocated as a result of our support. Close the Digital Divide Innovations in information technologies are changing the way we learn, communicate and live our daily lives. However, poor communities, that arguably have the most to gain from access to computers, technology training and digital networks, are the least likely to have them. As part of its commitment to bring the promise of technology to neighborhoods in need, the foundation is equipping every eligible library in the U.S. and Canada with high-powered computers, Internet access and technology training and support for librarians. Open the doors to higher education The foundation has a 20-year commitment to support 20,000 students from ethnic and racial communities currently underrepresented in higher education today. Scholar-leaders showing academic promise, unmet financial need and demonstrated leadership are eligible for scholarships for college and graduate studies. Equip learning leaders to integrate technology in schools Using our home turf of Washington State as a laboratory, the foundation sponsors the Teacher Leadership Program, a model for supporting teachers in their effort to infuse technology into the learning environment. A parallel effort, the Smart Tools Academy, aims to equip school principals and administrators for their leadership role in technology integration.