BEIJING, Feb. 12 -- Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada have said they will create a 1.5 billion U.S.dollars fund to help develop vaccines for infectious diseases and curb infant mortality in the developing world in a pilot project run by the G-7 group of nations.

    Italy will be the biggest donor, giving 635 million dollars, with the UK putting in 485 million dollars and Canada 200 million dollars, according to a statement released at a ceremony in Rome. Norway will contribute 54 million dollars and Russia will give 80 million dollars. Microsoft Corp Chairman and philanthropist Bill Gates will provide 50 million dollars, Bloomberg News said.

    The three countries are committed to paying guaranteed prices for new vaccines for pneumococcus, a form of bacterial pneumonia that often afflicts children in poor countries. The contributors expect to vaccinate as many as 100 million people and save 5.5 million lives by 2030. The funds will be managed by the World Bank.

    "It's the first step toward guaranteeing a series of vaccines that can save the lives of children that need it all around the world," Italian Finance Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa said in Rome.

    The vaccine project, that has been the object of G-7 talks for at least two years, failed to secure the backing of all the developed nations.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)