The CDC Foundation: Helping CDC Do More, Faster

The CDC Foundation played a critical role in the response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa by providing assistance and supplies through donations to the Foundation’s Global Disaster Response Fund. By August 2014, CDC identified a number of significant needs, and the CDC Foundation received commitments and donations of more than $55 million toward the Ebola response from individuals and organizations, such as Mark Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan, The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, HCA, and Taiwan. In-kind contributions of supplies or services were provided by organizations such as health care product company Henry Schein and medical technology firm Becton, Dickinson and Company.

The CDC Foundation and its donors provided materials and services, assembling funding for vehicles, medical supplies and equipment, computers, tablets, and internet connectivity for use by CDC and in-country staff. Donors helped support the development of emergency operations centers in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, as well as systems to coordinate efforts and help prepare each country for future health emergencies. 

The CDC Foundation’s board of directors acknowledged the tremendous needs presented by the Ebola epidemic, and absorbed 100% of the Foundation’s administrative costs.  Every penny donated by others was used to support CDC’s emergency mandate in West Africa.

The following video from CDC Foundation—Working Together. Defeating Ebola.—features those working on the frontlines of CDC’s Ebola response and the donors who answered the call to support this essential work.