Microsoft co-founder pledges $100 million to fight Ebola outbreak

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is giving at least $100 million to fight Ebola, the largest private pledge so far to tackle the virus.

Allen, who also owns the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team, had previously pledged to give more than $20 million to the fight but said he significantly increased the amount to spur others to get involved.

{mosads}“Today, I am issuing a call to action for individuals to join me in this cause,” he wrote in a blog post on Thursday.

“Time is not our ally in this fight,” he added. “The time is now to do the right thing. So, let’s do this. Together, we can Tackle Ebola.” 

Allen’s philanthropic foundation has launched TackleEbola.com, which seeks to coordinate efforts to confront the virus that has crippled parts of West Africa and captured public attention around the globe.

The tech industry icon is funding the development and manufacture of two medevac containment units that the State Department can use to evacuate infected doctors and nurses from regions that have suffered the worse of the epidemic. Other funds will go to help provide training and lab equipment for aid workers in Liberia.

In his blog post, Allen called for major donors and corporations to “give generously,” and asked everyone else who wants to be involved to “donate what you can.”

“We know from history that with timely and coordinated action, we can start to contain this disease,” he wrote.

Allen’s pledge tops that of any nation except for the United States and United Kingdom, according to data compiled by The Telegraph newspaper. In recent weeks, President Obama has spoken with the leaders of Japan, Italy, Germany and the U.K. to coordinate international aid efforts and to boost global giving.

As Ebola has spread, other wealthy business executives and philanthropists have pledged millions to fight the outbreak.

Last week Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife announced they were giving $25 million to help the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its efforts. 

Still, many aid groups have said that the emergence of the crisis has yet to prompt a major spike in fundraising. 

More than 4,500 people have died from Ebola in West Africa this year.