NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, July 17, 2015

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provided a $20 million grant to the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI).

The grant provides $10 million in endowment support to sustain growth of DGHI. The other $10 million supports a challenge matching every dollar given, making the total grant impact $30 million.

The grant also allows other donors to partner with the foundation to support Duke’s global health education by recruiting and supporting faculty at Duke working to address global health challenges; supporting financial aid for students, including graduate fellowships and support for international students; and strengthen DGHI’s partnerships in priority locations such as Haiti, Kenya, Tanzania, Sri Lanka and South Africa.

“I’m excited that our support can help to increase the visibility of the institute as well as raise the capacity of the global health sector,” said Melinda Gates, who is co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a Duke alumna.

Examples of global health challenges DGHI is tackling include HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment through medicine and public policy, mental health through psychiatry and psychology and implementation of economics and management departments to strengthen health systems. DGHI faculty members are also partnering with organizations and institutions on more than 300 projects in 54 countries, many of which have direct impact on global health policy or practice.