Coronavirus: Gate Foundation Gift $10m To Africa

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has gifted $10 million in emergency funds and technical support to help frontline responders in China and Africa to fight against the global spread of novel Coronavirus.

The foundation in a statement released on its website earlier today 5 million dollars to assist the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in scaling up public health measures against coronavirus among African Union member states.

“These measures will include technical support to implement the screening and treatment of suspected cases, laboratory confirmation of 2019-nCoV diagnoses and the safe isolation and care of identified cases,” it said.

The new coronavirus (known as 2019-nCoV) was first reported in Wuhan City, China, on Dec. 31, 2019, and has since been detected in 10 other countries, including Thailand, Japan, France and the US.

Naija News also learnt that the other 5 million dollars was given to the coronavirus response in China, and was already working with a range of Chinese public and private sector partners to accelerate national and international cooperation.

It said that the international cooperation would be in the areas of critical need, including efforts to identify and confirm cases, safely isolate and care for patients and accelerate the development of treatments and vaccines.

According to the World Health Organisation, there have been 2014 confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV, and at least 56 people have died from the virus which is from the same family as SARS and the common cold.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is guided by the belief that every life has equal value, and works to help all people lead healthy and productive lives.

In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty.