FOR those who are not familiar with the facts, The Hindu and The New York Times have already covered this issue with Microsoft co-founder's monopolisation of medical research. To quote the latter, "The chief of malaria for the World Health Organization has complained that the growing dominance of malaria research by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation risks stifling a diversity of views among scientists and wiping out the world health agency’s policy-making function." We have many more details here, where Gates' use of disease against GNU/Linux is also criticised. Disease is used as a cause (or an excuse) to inject political agenda.

Earlier this year the Task Force commissioned studies about the R2D, including one involving the WHO IGWG process, which was done by Lisa Forman, and two other health programs, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (TGF), and the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR). I was the investigator for the TGF and TDR studies. The citation for my report is as follows:

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases and the right to development. Prepared for the UN Human Rights Council, Working Group on the Right to Development, High Level Task Force on the implementation of the right to development. A/HRC/12/WG.2/TF/CRP.4/Rev.1. 2009 June 18.