Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation contributes $10M to fight novel coronavirus outbreak globally

Faced with a novel coronavirus — 2019-nCoV — that continues to spread worldwide, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced this week that it will commit $10 million toward containment in China and Africa.

The funds will be split down the middle: $5 million will go to response support in China, while the other $5 million will be given to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Africa, these funds will be used to scale up public health measures among African Union member states, with a specific dedication to screening, lab confirmations, isolation practices, and other preparedness efforts. Along with the funds will come technical support to frontline responders.

The Seattle-based foundation notes that in China, it is already working with a variety of public and private sector partners to coordinate and accelerate response to the viral outbreak that has so far killed more than 100 people and infected thousands. These partners include the National Health Commission and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and various research institutes affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen University, and Sinopharm China National Biotec Group.

Going forward, the foundation hopes to bolster efforts to identify and confirm cases, safely isolate the infected and provide care for patients, while accelerating the development of treatments and vaccines.