Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg donated $25 million to the efforts in combating Ebola outbreak last month, and he’s now asking that you do the same. Well, maybe not as much.
Starting today, the social network will publish a donate button across the top of its users’ News Feeds giving the option to donate to the American Red Cross, the International Medical Corps, and and Save the Children.
Beyond what users can do to help, Facebook is reaching out in other ways, according to Naomi Gleit, Facebook’s VP of product management.
Facebook is also utilizing its ad technology to target specific users with educational materials about Ebola. For example, users in Sierra Leone will see explanatory messages from UNICEF, a United Nations relief organization, in their feed as part of an educational push.
“The company is also donating 100 wireless hotspots to areas in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone where first responders are stationed,” said Chris Daniels, VP of Internet.org, the company’s initiative to get the entire world online. “The hotspots will provide voice and data services to those on the ground.”
Other news:
Obama requests $6 billion in Ebola effort – In a letter to House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), President Obama said the money would fund a comprehensive strategy “to contain and end the outbreak at its source in Africa, enhance domestic preparedness, speed the procurement and testing of vaccines and therapeutics, and accelerate global capability to prevent the spread of future infectious diseases.”
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
“Active monitoring” of NYC residents triples since Monday – People coming in from the three Ebola-infected countries in West Africa are being monitored, along with some people who have been treating Craig Spencer. Although, it’s not clear what that exactly means and it’s been said that they are symptom free.
Dr. Craig Spencer enjoys playing the banjo while in quarantine – Spencer is apparently feeling pretty good at this point, because sources reported that he’s playing David Bowie on his banjo and also doing yoga.
New technologies could help with early diagnosis – U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of BioFire’s FilmArray system to diagnose Ebola in U.S. hospitals and military labs. This is just the start of many companies joining in to help with diagnostics.
[Photo from flickr user TechCrunch]
