The Corporate World Invests in Ebola Fight

The Ebola virus is one of the deadliest to hit West Africa. The number of Ebola cases in West Africa totaled 9,936 with 4,877 deaths as of Oct. 20. The average death rate is 50 percent, but in past outbreaks the death rate has ranged from 50 to 90 percent. Clearly, West Africa needs help fighting Ebola, and corporate donors are pledging money to help with that fight. Recently, JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced up to $600,000 in donations from its foundation and employees.

Grants of $300,000 from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation will support the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the International Rescue Committee in their work to help control the Ebola outbreak. The foundation is also launching an employee giving campaign that will match employee donations dollar-for-dollar. The foundation will double donations made by employees by up to $150,000 for a total of $300,000.

“There is an immediate need for assistance to help prevent Ebola from spreading any further,” said Dalila Wilson-Scott, head of global philanthropy for JPMorgan Chase. “With our support, UNICEF and the IRC will be able to continue responding to the outbreak, helping prevent the disease from spreading and providing social services to West African communities in need.”

Foundations donate to help fight Ebola

Corporate donors with foundations are also pledging big money to fight Ebola. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $50 million to combat Ebola, $2 million of which has been donated to the CDC Foundation. (The rest has been donated to the World Health Organization and UNICEF.) Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, gave $25 million to the CDC Foundation from their Silicon Valley Community Foundation. The $25 million donation is more than donations from the governments of China, Canada, Germany and France and is the biggest private donation to the CDC Foundation.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen recently pledged $100 million to combat Ebola. Allen created the Humanitarian Aid Worker Medevac Fund and Ebola Medevac Fund to fund the development of two medevac containment units which the U.S. State Department will use to evacuate medical professionals from West Africa. Allen is also partnering with the World Health Organization.

Chocolate companies pledge to fight Ebola

West Africa produces nearly 70 percent of the world's cocoa, and the virus is threatening the world’s cocoa supply. But chocolate companies are also donating to help the region cope with the Ebola outbreak.

Earlier this month, the World Cocoa Foundation announced a $600,000 donation to fight Ebola in West Africa. The money came from member companies in the cocoa and chocolate industry which include Hershey, Mars and Nestle. All of the money went to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and Caritas.

Image credit: European Commission DG ECHO