Funding will go toward the purchase of supplies in affected countries, as well as for the development of Ebola drug therapies and vaccines, the foundation 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,” said Sue Desmond-Hellmann, CEO of the Gates Foundation in a statement. “We also want to accelerate the development of treatments, vaccines and diagnostics that can help end this epidemic and prevent future outbreaks.”
The foundation states it has already donated $10 million of the $50 million total, including $5 million to the WHO and another $5 million for UNICEF. An additional $2 million will be allocated to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support their work involving treatment as well as strengthening of healthcare systems.
“The only way to make these crises less likely is to build functioning health services around the world,” Desmond-Hellmann wrote as part of a Twitter question-and-answer session the foundation held Wednesday.
The international response to the outbreak has been criticized by some as insufficient in light of the pace at which the virus is spreading. According to the WHO, nearly half of the more than 4,200 reported cases have occurred over the past three weeks.
Last month Dr. Joanne Liu, president of the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders called on countries to step up their efforts, saying the outbreak had stretched beyond the organization's capacities.
“The World Health Organization, the international community in general, and nongovernmental organizations must rapidly scale up their response and send in more teams,” Liu said. “It is urgent that management and coordination are improved, but also that strategies are implemented to reach all affected areas and to help improve general access to healthcare in areas where the system has collapsed.”
The government's funding request to fight Ebola is included within a short-term continuing resolution introduced Tuesday by the House Appropriations Committee that would continue to fund the government until Dec. 11.
A vote on the measure is expected in the House this week.
Follow Steven Ross Johnson on Twitter: @MHsjohnson
