On Aug. 26, 1998, Bill and Melinda Gates announced the establishment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Children’s Vaccine Program to accelerate access to new vaccines for children in developing nations. The goal of the $100 million program is to significantly reduce the time it currently takes for vaccines to reach children living in poor countries.

The program will begin immediately with a focus on several new vaccines that protect children against respiratory and diarrheal disease, including Hib, pneumococcus and rotavirus vaccines, and against liver cancer through increased use of hepatitis B vaccine. More than two million children die each year from diseases that these vaccines could prevent.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Children’s Vaccine Program will be administered by PATH—Program for Appropriate Technology in Health. PATH will host the Program Secretariat at its headquarters in Seattle and will provide direct liaison to the Foundation. The International Vaccine Institute (IVI), headquartered in Seoul, Korea, will provide an Asian Secretariat office.