Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen Ups Ebola-fighting Pledge To $100 Mln

Microsoft Corp. co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen said Thursday he will commit at least $100 million to the fight against Ebola. In a statement, Allen spelled out a number of measures he said he will fund. They include the development and manufacture of two medevac containment units for the use of medical personnel in West Africa. That, he said, is aimed at addressing a challenge in recruiting medical professionals: evacuating them should they become infected. He also established the Ebola Medevac Fund, designed to address the gap between what insurance will cover and the actual cost. In addition, he is donating funds to the University of Massachusetts Medical School to help provide training, medical workers and lab equipment for relief efforts in Liberia, one of the countries hardest hit by the virus. Finally, he has created a donation platform called TackleEbola.com that will let individuals contribute to specific organizations and to coordinate and optimize individual global giving. Donors will be able to select the need that they are most interested in funding, and their entire contribution will go to that. Allen has been contributing to the fight against Ebola since August with a contribution to the American Red Cross, among other efforts.