Billionaire Paul Allen Pledges $100 Million to Fight Ebola

Paul Allen has upped the ante for philanthropists donating to combat the Ebola virus outbreak that is ravaging parts of West Africa and stoking panic worldwide. He announced Thursday a $100 million commitment that will provide for more training, supplies and medical personnel in affected areas, like Liberia.

Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft MSFT +0.15%, got involved with the Ebola battle over the summer, donating more than $20 million to organizations like the American Red Cross, UNICEF and CDC Foundation and launching the Tackle Ebola campaign. His latest gift eclipses his previous efforts and is the largest known individual contribution so far, though he’s in good company with other notably philanthropic billionaires. Last week Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announced a $25 million pledge to the Centers for Disease Control Foundation; on Sept. 10 Bill and Melinda Gates donated $50 million through their foundation to aid emergency efforts in Ebola stricken areas. Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, and other ultra-wealthy Nigerians have donated to stop the disease’s spread in Africa, and just this week Nigeria was declared Ebola free.

Allen’s latest round of giving will support the implementation of two medevac transport units needed to quickly and safely evacuate medical personnel that become infected — key to recruiting and securing more doctors and health workers. Allen is also partnering with the University of Massachusetts Medical School to train and deploy more medical workers and also provide decontamination and lab equipment to hospitals in affected areas.

There are nearly 10,000 Ebola cases in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, where more than 4,800 people have died from the disease, according to the World Health Organization.

Forbes.