Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg Donates $25 Million to Help Fight Ebola

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is leading the way in the fight against Ebola by donating $25 million to help U.S. medical experts find a cure for the deadly disease.

The billionaire and his wife Priscilla Chan announced the grant for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control foundation on Tuesday, almost a week after Texan Thomas Eric Duncan died from the virus. He was America’s first confirmed Ebola case and was diagnosed shortly after returning from a trip to West Africa, where more than 4,400 people have died from the condition since the outbreak began earlier this year.

A statement released by the couple reads: “We need to get Ebola under control in the near term so that it doesn’t spread further and become a long term global health crisis that we end up fighting for decades at large scale, like HIV or polio.

“We believe our grant is the quickest way to empower the CDC and the experts in this field to prevent this outcome.”

Zuckerberg isn’t the first celebrity to take action – British supermodel Naomi Campbell is organizing charity fashion shows to help in the battle against Ebola, while Boardwalk Empire actor Jeffrey Wright has embarked on a global Twitter campaign called #CrushEbolaNow to raise awareness about the disease.

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