Wellcome, one of the largest global nonprofit funders for scientific research and global health, will go ahead with a plan to roughly double its annual spending levels, compared to a decade ago.
Wellcome says it plans to spend about £16 billion (approximately $19 billion) over the next 10 years despite the looming threat of a global recession — even if it must dip into its endowment, the organization’s chair Julia Gillard told Devex.
Gillard, the former Australian prime minister, also gave details of how Wellcome — historically mainly a funder of medical research — plans to shift its focus to themes more in tune with the work of the international development community. She said the funding boost will go to research on the “climate emergency” and other “urgent” research areas such as infectious diseases.
About the author
Stephanie Beasley@Steph_Beasley
Stephanie Beasley is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global philanthropy with a focus on regulations and policy. She is an alumna of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and Oberlin College and has a background in Latin American studies. She previously covered transportation security at POLITICO.
