Gates pledges $600m to fight TB

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged a further $600m to a global campaign to fight the spread of tuberculosis.

Over 400 organisations worldwide, including the British and Nigerian governments, have backed the Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis which aims to treat 50 million people over the next 10 years.

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates launched the plan at the World Economic Forum in Davos alongside UK chancellor Gordon Brown and Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo. Gates said that the initiative is a "chance to save 14 million lives" .

The Gates Foundation has already committed $300m to the programme, but the total cost is likely to reach $56bn over 10 years.

The UK will contribute £41.7m to tackle tuberculosis in India as part of the campaign.