Posted on January 14, 2009

Gates Foundation Awards Emory University $14 Million for Tobacco Prevention, Control Initiatives in China

Emory University in Atlanta has announced a five-year, $14 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help reduce the burden of tobacco use in China.

Working in collaboration with the Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium at Emory's Rollins School of Public Health, the Emory Global Health Institute will use the grant to develop effective, accountable, and sustainable tobacco prevention and control initiatives in China through the Emory Global Health Institute - China Tobacco Partnership. The program is designed to quickly and efficiently identify and mobilize global resources to assist China in reducing tobacco use.

The institute will manage the partnership, which will collaborate with public health leaders in China to promote evidence-based approaches to reducing tobacco use tailored to the culture and circumstances of individual cities and provinces in China. The institute also will provide funding and support to establish national tobacco control resource centers throughout the county.

According to the World Health Organization, the number of smokers in China is greater than the total population of the United States, two-thirds of Chinese men smoke, and an estimated 100 million tobacco-related deaths will occur among people currently age 29 or younger.

"Tobacco is the largest cause of preventable deaths globally, and China has the most smokers in the world," said Jeffrey Koplan, director of the Emory Global Health Institute and the university's vice president for global health. "There is a huge opportunity in this project to have a major impact on global health."