- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced it is pledging up to $100 million to prevent the spreading of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced it is pledging up to $100 million to prevent the spreading of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). The funds being deployed will be used for helping find a vaccine for the virus, limit the spread, and improve upon detection and treatment.
This donation includes the $10 million that The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation previously pledged. Of the $100 million, $20 million will be direct to groups like the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. Plus the fund will also be provided to public health agencies in China and other countries that are affected by the coronavirus.
And The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is also focused on countries in South Asia and Africa where it says people have higher risks of contamination due to the lack of proper healthcare. The health authorities in those regions will receive up to $20 million from the Foundation.
“Multilateral organizations, national governments, the private sector, and philanthropies must work together to slow the pace of the outbreak, help countries protect their most vulnerable citizens and accelerate the development of the tools to bring this epidemic under control,” said Mark Suzman, Chief Executive Officer at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Our hope is that these resources will help catalyze a rapid and effective international response. This response should be guided by science, not fear, and it should build on the steps that the World Health Organization has taken to date.”
The coronavirus has infected around 28,000 people across more than 25 countries. At least 560 people have been killed by the virus, mostly in mainland China.
