Gates Foundation Commits $50 Million to Fight Ebola Epidemic

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation promised $50 million on Wednesday to help combat the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. 

"It became clear to us over the last seven to 10 days that the pace and scope of the epidemic was increasing significantly," Chris Elias, president of global development for the world's largest charitable foundation, said, reports  the Associated Press.

The foundation said that the funds will be released to the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other international organizations involved in combating the epidemic.

Regarding the channelization of money, the foundation said that it will be used to buy supplies and to develop vaccines, therapies and improved diagnostic equipments.

However, the foundation cannot say now how much money would be earmarked for different areas like emergency response, research development etc, Elias said. He also said that one of the main advantages of the foundation was flexibility.

The U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on Friday had requested the international community for  $600 million to combat Ebola.

Ban also said that efforts in the coming weeks are crucial in preventing the spread of the disease, reports AP.

The foundation had already committed $10 million of the $50 million to combat Ebola.

From that money, the World Health Organization got $5 million for emergency operations and research and development. The U.S. fund of UNICEF got the other $5 million to assist the efforts in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Meanwhile, the United Nations on Tuesday allocated $3.8 million for the U.N. Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) to help move supplies and personnel in Ebola affected countries.

Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, allocated the amount from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to strengthen UNHAS, according to the UN News Centre.

The reduced commercial travel in the region had slowed down the immediate deployment of health workers and the availability of supplies.