Gates Foundation Promises $100 Million to Fight New Coronavirus
2020-02-08
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1The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said this week it will provide up to $100 million to support action against the 2019 novel coronavirus.
2It says the money will help strengthen efforts to test people for the virus, separate healthy individuals from the sick and find treatment for them.
3The donation includes the $10 million the Gates Foundation offered in late January.
4Mark Suzman is chief executive officer of the Gates Foundation.
5He said that national governments, private industry, and aid groups must join together to help protect people who are most likely to get sick.
6The donation will help speed development of the "tools to bring this epidemic under control," he said.
7He added, "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."
8The Gates Foundation is giving money and working with other donors to help the World Health Organization (WHO), Chinese medical workers and others worldwide.
9When WHO called the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, it noted the need for an organized international effort to fight the virus.
10China's government has also declared a national public health emergency and launched a nationwide effort to contain the virus and treat those who are sick.
11The foundation promised $20 million right away to hurry the process of identifying those who are sick, keeping them separate, and helping them get better.
12The goal is to stop the disease from spreading to more people and places.
13Some of the money is going to WHO and the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
14Money is also going to public health officials in China and other countries with coronavirus patients.
15The gift is aimed at helping them pay the start-up cost of medical workers and supplies while governments and international agencies are paying for ongoing operations.
16Recent epidemics, such as the H1N1 influenza pandemic of 2009, have had a big effect on people living in extreme poverty.
17Most of those people live in African countries south of the Sahara Desert or parts of South Asia.
18They do not have good basic health care, so they have higher than average health risks.
19Another $20 million is going to public health officials in these areas to improve their emergency operations and to treat confirmed cases.
20One partner is the African Field Epidemiology Network, a non-profit service that currently operates in more than 30 African countries.
21Of the total donation, $60 million will go to speed the process of making vaccines to protect against the novel coronavirus.
22It will also support efforts to learn the best way to treat and identify those who are sick.
23If the outbreak continues for several months or more, public health officials will need to have safe and effective vaccines and medicines.
24One organization working on developing vaccines is the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
25It has called on scientists to propose research on dealing with the coronavirus.
26They are already working with Chinese public- and private-sector researchers trying to find ways to stop the spread of the virus.
27I'm Jill Robbins.
1The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said this week it will provide up to $100 million to support action against the 2019 novel coronavirus. It says the money will help strengthen efforts to test people for the virus, separate healthy individuals from the sick and find treatment for them. 2The donation includes the $10 million the Gates Foundation offered in late January. 3Controlling the epidemic 4Mark Suzman is chief executive officer of the Gates Foundation. He said that national governments, private industry, and aid groups must join together to help protect people who are most likely to get sick. The donation will help speed development of the "tools to bring this epidemic under control," he said. He added, "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." 5Worldwide emergency 6The Gates Foundation is giving money and working with other donors to help the World Health Organization (WHO), Chinese medical workers and others worldwide. When WHO called the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, it noted the need for an organized international effort to fight the virus. 7China's government has also declared a national public health emergency and launched a nationwide effort to contain the virus and treat those who are sick. 8Increased efforts to find and treat the coronavirus 9The foundation promised $20 million right away to hurry the process of identifying those who are sick, keeping them separate, and helping them get better. The goal is to stop the disease from spreading to more people and places. Some of the money is going to WHO and the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 10Money is also going to public health officials in China and other countries with coronavirus patients. The gift is aimed at helping them pay the start-up cost of medical workers and supplies while governments and international agencies are paying for ongoing operations. 11Protecting at-risk groups in Africa and South Asia 12Recent epidemics, such as the H1N1 influenza pandemic of 2009, have had a big effect on people living in extreme poverty. Most of those people live in African countries south of the Sahara Desert or parts of South Asia. They do not have good basic health care, so they have higher than average health risks. 13Another $20 million is going to public health officials in these areas to improve their emergency operations and to treat confirmed cases. One partner is the African Field Epidemiology Network, a non-profit service that currently operates in more than 30 African countries. 14Developing Vaccines 15Of the total donation, $60 million will go to speed the process of making vaccines to protect against the novel coronavirus. It will also support efforts to learn the best way to treat and identify those who are sick. If the outbreak continues for several months or more, public health officials will need to have safe and effective vaccines and medicines. 16One organization working on developing vaccines is the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. It has called on scientists to propose research on dealing with the coronavirus. They are already working with Chinese public- and private-sector researchers trying to find ways to stop the spread of the virus. 17I'm Jill Robbins. 18Jill Robbins adapted a Gates Foundation release for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 19What do you think of the efforts of the Gates foundation? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 20_____________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22epidemic - n. a growing number of cases of an infectious disease in a community 23pandemic - n. a situation in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world 24epidemiology - n. the study of how disease spreads and can be controlled