A global health initiative that was launched in 2003 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded 43 grants totaling $436 million for a broad range of innovative research projects designed to prevent, treat, and cure diseases of the developing world.

The 43 projects are grouped under seven major goals:

• Develop improved childhood vaccines that do not require refrigeration, needles, or multiple doses.
• Create new vaccines to prevent malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV infection.
• Develop new ways to prevent insects from transmitting diseases such as dengue.
• Discover ways to prevent drug resistance in infectious microorganisms.
• Create therapies to cure latent and chronic infections such as tuberculosis.
• Develop technologies to diagnose and track diseases more accurately in poor countries.
• Grow more nutritious versions of staple crops such as rice and cassava to combat malnutrition.

"It's shocking how little research is directed toward the diseases of the world's poorest countries," says Bill Gates, cofounder of the Gates Foundation. The Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative, he believes, "can transform health in the developing world and save millions of lives."

The initiative is supported by a $450 million commitment from the foundation, with additional funding of $31.6 million from the Wellcome Trust and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

The 43 projects that have been funded were selected from more than 1,500 projects proposed by scientists in 75 countries. Some proposals are still under review and may be awarded grants later this year, the foundation says.