Bloomberg Philanthropies pledges $40M to fight coronavirus globally

Bloomberg Philanthropies will donate $40 million toward a global response to the coronavirus pandemic, the organization founded by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Tuesday. 

The Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Coronavirus Global Response Initiative will fund rapid-response teams to prevent and slow the disease’s spread in vulnerable low- and middle-income countries.

The initiative will have a strong focus on African nations, but will also extend to support mayors and city governments around the world. 

“Millions of lives depend on getting the coronavirus response right – and so does the economic and social health of communities around the world. We need to slow transmission of the virus and minimize the impact of the outbreak in all countries,” Bloomberg, a former 2020 presidential candidate, said in the announcement. 

Bloomberg Philanthropies will partner with the World Health Organization and Dr. Tom Frieden, the CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of the global health organization Vital Strategies. 

Frieden is a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the former New York health commissioner under Bloomberg’s first two terms as mayor. 

“We have a window of time to partner with Ministries of Health in sub-Saharan Africa to protect their population from a disease that could kill through both infections and disruption of health services,” Frieden said in the announcement. “From Ebola to H1N1, we now know more than ever how to minimize the risk of epidemics, especially in low- and middle-income countries. With Mayor Bloomberg’s support, we can help mitigate the worst effects of coronavirus in Africa.”

Bloomberg’s $40 million initiative will complement funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 

The Gates Foundation teamed up with the Mastercard Impact Fund and Wellcome earlier this month to commit up to $125 million toward treatments for the coronavirus.