Statement from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

SEATTLE -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation confirmed today that Bill and Melinda Gates have given an additional $5 billion to the organization this month, bringing the Foundation's endowment to approximately $21.8 billion.

"The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will continue to focus on helping to improve people's lives primarily through health and learning," said Patty Stonesifer, the Foundation's Co-Chair. "Particular attention will go towards accelerating the development and distribution of life-saving vaccines."

Last November, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a gift of $750 million over five years to the Global Fund for Children's Vaccines , which will help ensure that children in developing countries are immunized against major killer diseases in the new millennium. In September of 1999, the Foundation awarded $50 million to the Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention for a major effort to prevent cervical cancer in developing countries.