Canada ? The Canadian government and Bill Gates announced an initiative Tuesday to establish a research institute to develop an AIDS vaccine, committing a total of $119 million to the project.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said his government has pledged $95.3 million to a new fund called the Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative, while the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has promised up to $24 million.

Gates’ $33 billion foundation has become a world leader in fighting AIDS and other epidemic diseases as well as extreme poverty, particularly in the developing world.

“Between Canada and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, we will contribute to the effort to develop a safe, effective, affordable and globally accessible HIV vaccine,” Harper said alongside Gates in the capital, Ottawa.

The money will help build a new research facility and support Canadian scientists to work with partners around the world. The goal is the manufacture of a preventative vaccine within a decade.