ISLAMABAD: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced Wednesday that it would provide $50 million to support emergency efforts to fight the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
According to a statement released on the foundation's website, the funds will be provided to United Nations organizations, including the World Health Organization, and other international organizations involved in the fight against Ebola, allowing them to buy necessary supplies, Anadolu News Agency Reported.
"In addition, the foundation will work with public and private sector partners to accelerate the development of therapies, vaccines, and diagnostics that could be effective in treating patients and preventing further transmission of the disease," the statement said.
The Gates Foundation has already committed $10 million of the $50 million, including $5 million to the US Fund for UNICEF to support Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea on emergency operations and treatment.
The European Commission announced September 5 that it would also provide 140 million ($181.5 million) to support West African countries in their fight against the deadly Ebola virus.
The World Health Organization reported on Tuesday that at least 2,296 people have been killed by Ebola since the outbreak in West Africa was first reported and describes it the virus as "one of the must virulent."
The tropical fever, which first appeared in 1976 in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, can be transmitted to humans from wild animals.
It also reportedly spreads through contact with the body fluids of infected persons or of those who have died of the disease.
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