Bill Gates Foundation Donates $50 Million to Help Fight the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa; Donation is Foundation's Largest Pledge Ever Towards a Humanitarian Cause [PHOTO]

Forbes reports that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $50 million to fight the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The announcement of the donation was made this past Wednesday, and the donation will be the foundation's largest ever pledge to a humanitarian cause.

The funds will be disbursed to United Nations agencies and other international organizations working on controlling the outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa.  The Huffington Post reports that the contribution will also go towards the purchasing of necessary medical supplies and increased emergency operations. The foundation has also said it will provide funding to aid public and public medical firms that are researching new vaccines, treatments, and technologies to fight Ebola with.

$5 million of the total pledge has already gone towards the World Health Organization (WHO), and another $5 million has gone towards UNICEF efforts in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.

According to Business Week, the Foundation's donation towards Ebola is a rare one as it usually contributes money towards eradicating diseases that kill millions each year. So far, Ebola has only claimed roughly 2,300 lives. However, it is a very dangerous disease due to the fact that there is no cure for it, no way to contain it, and a high likelihood of death upon transmission. Authorities are not sure of how many ways Ebola can spread, either - it is currently thought that the disease might be transmitted by bats and chimpanzees.

As a result, the mysterious nature of Ebola has alarmed health authorities all over the world. UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon said in a recent statement, "the world can no longer afford to short-change global public health," in an effort to urge international organizations to raise money to help fight the outbreak.

Sue Desmond-Hellman, the Foundation's chief executive officer, stated, "We are working urgently with our partners to identify the most effective ways to help them save lives now and stop transmission of this deadly disease." Hopefully, the Foundation's donation will be a catalyst for a broader global effort.

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Bill Gates Foundation
ebola
donation
World Health Organization
unicef
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