The fight against Ebola has received a boost with a ground breaking donation from the world’s richest man.
Bill Gate’s foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced the largest ever toward a humanitarian cause, this week. The philanthropic foundation pledged $50 million towards fighting the deadly Ebola virus outbreak which has claimed thousands of lives in West Africa, since it was first detected in December 2013.
The foundation’s statement specified funds would immediately benefit United Nations agencies and international organisations involved in containing and treating the virus, allowing them to purchase necessary medical supplies and increase emergency operations. From the foundation’s total pledge, $5 million has already gone toward the World Health Organization (WHO), while another $5 million has been allocated for UNICEF efforts in some of the hardest hit regions of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
In a report released Sept. 5, WHO reported the overall death rate of the disease stood at 53 percent. The total number of cases reached 3,944, while 2,079 had died from infection in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone — countries identified as “those with widespread and intense transmission”, Huffpost says.
Just last week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said “the world can no longer afford to short-change global public health,” as he urged international organisations to help WHO raise the approximate $600 million needed for supplies in West Africa.
