The University of Manitoba has been the beneficiary of almost half-a-billion dollars in grants — the most of any post-secondary institution in the country — from the foundation headed by software billionaire Bill Gates and his ex-wife.
On Tuesday, the university announced the latest US$12.5-million grant from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had brought in more than $450 million in research dollars since the foundation’s first grant to it 22 years ago.
“We’ve had a lot of different projects with the Gates Foundation,” said Dr. James Blanchard, director of the Institute for Global Public Health and the Canada Research Chair in epidemiology and global health.
Evan Vucci / The Associated Press Files
Over the last 22 years the University of Manitoba has brought in more than $450 million in research dollars from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is headed by software billionaire Bill Gates (pictured) and his ex-wife.
“In India at first, it was a big HIV project and since then we have continued to expand with HIV and other projects. It has now been a long partnership with the Gates foundation and we are privileged to work with (it).”
Other grants include $22 million in 2004 to expand the university’s HIV prevention work in India, $5.1 million in 2014 to reduce mortality caused by pneumonia and diarrhea in children under five years of age in India’s Uttar Pradesh state, and $87 million in 2022 to help drop the maternal and neonatal mortality rates in that same region.
Blanchard said while some of the grants from the foundation have gone to other faculties at the university, the bulk have been tied to projects headed by the institute.
Mario Pinto, the university’s vice-president research and international, said the institution has developed a strong level of trust with the foundation.
“We’ve proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that we can deliver,” Pinto said. “That’s what sets us apart.”
Pinto said the foundation is helping the university establish itself as a leader in global health research. He’s proud to see new projects, including one that studies the effect of breastfeeding on a baby’s microbiome, by researcher Meghan Azad, receive grant funding.
“It’s extremely important work,” Pinto said.
In the latest project, the institute will work with the governments of Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, three states in Nigeria, and the Sindh province of Pakistan, as well as several non-government organizations, to bolster the availability and quality of family planning services, as well as maternal, newborn and child health services and supplies.
Blanchard said during the year-long project, researchers go to about 8,000 public and private facilities, including hospitals and clinics, to assess their family planning services, supply needs, supply-chain management and human resources.
He said they will present the research to the local governments to help them improve their systems.
“In this case, the Gates foundation had already developed agreements with government to provide support and then they reached out to us,” said Blanchard. “All of these geographies are looking to improve their availability of family planning services.
“The Gates foundation recognizes the University of Manitoba has lots of expertise and asked if we would be willing to submit a grant proposal.”
Blanchard said each of the governments is a key partner in the project and, once the research findings have been completed, the institute will work with them to implement the strategy.
“Our role is to provide that detailed picture and analysis of what is available and what the gaps are and help the government plan,” he said.
Blanchard said he has met Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, and even Gates’ father when he co-chaired the foundation.
“They have a pretty strong understanding of the project proposals they fund,” he said.
— with files from Katrina Clarke
Kevin Rollason
Reporter
Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin.
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