Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to give $100 million for coronavirus global response

SEATTLE -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will give up to $100 million for the global response to the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak, according to a news release from the foundation.

The nonprofit says the funding will go toward strengthening detection, isolation and treatment efforts; protecting at-risk populations, and developing vaccines, treatments and diagnostics.

“Multilateral organizations, national governments, the private sector and philanthropies must work together to slow the pace of the outbreak, help countries protect their most vulnerable citizens and accelerate the development of the tools to bring this epidemic under control,” said Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman. “Our hope is that these resources will help catalyze a rapid and effective international response. This response should be guided by science, not fear, and it should build on the steps that the World Health Organization has taken to date.”

The Gates Foundation is contributing more resources – in close coordination with other donors – to assist the World Health Organization (WHO), Chinese frontline responders and others at the global and national levels.

WHO declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, citing the risks the virus poses globally and the need for a worldwide coordinated effort to enhance preparedness, especially in fragile settings.