Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen Contributes $9 Million to Fight Ebola
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Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen followed in the footsteps of his former partner and fellow billionaire Bill Gates on Thursday, donating millions of dollars to help battle the spread of Ebola in West Africa.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Wednesday pledged $50 million to help fight the disease, and one day later Allen announced that his foundation would contribute $9 million to the CDC Foundation. The money will be used to “establish emergency operations centers in the most-impacted countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.”
“The tragedy of Ebola,” Allen said in a post to the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation’s website, “is that we know how to tackle the disease, but the governments in West Africa are in dire need of more resources and solutions to treat and contain the virus.”
Allen wrote that his contribution is, “just the beginning of an ongoing commitment to help the people of West Africa,” though he acknowledged that, “money is only part of the answer.” The situation, Allen noted, requires, “creative and practical solutions for the logistical, healthcare worker safety and in-country education challenges aid organizations are facing.”
“A winnable battle should never be lost,” Allen said, urging others to “be a part of the solution” by giving to the CDC Foundation as well.
At least 2,296 people have been killed by the disease, and 1,997 more have fallen ill, the World Health Organization said.
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