Dangote donates $3Million to Help Fight Ebola
The President of Dangote group, Aliko Dangote has donated $3 million to a fund established by the African Union through the Dangote 
Foundation, to combat the Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa.
Dangote made the donation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during a meeting with some AU business leaders, saying: “Ebola continues to devastate and take away lives in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. There must be no let-up in urgently matching solidarity and moral support with faster and more strategic actions. None of us can sleep easy until Ebola is contained.
“I want to use this opportunity to thank every one of you around the world for playing heroic roles. I commiserate with the families of your colleagues who have made the supreme sacrifice while fighting Ebola. I thank and applaud all the African volunteers who will be part of the AU initiative.
“We need to appreciate all those working on the frontlines to contain Ebola – the health care workers, those tracking and tracing contacts, those ensuring that Ebola victims receive dignified burials, and others.”
The Foundation confirmed the donation in a statement, adding that the funds would be administered by the African Development Bank (ADB).
“The funds will enable the immediate deployment of medical personnel to the three affected countries. The business leaders present at the meeting agreed to encourage their colleagues to contribute to the fund and support the AU.
“This $3m donation is in addition to previous interventions in Nigeria where the Foundation owned by the business mogul, Aliko Dangote, had spent about $5 million to evolve a two- pronged strategy that directly support the Federal Government at containing the Ebola outbreak, through investments that strengthen Nigeria’s health system in a manner that will endure beyond the current Ebola crisis.
“The Dangote Foundation has spent almost $5 million to contain what is now recognised as the worst Ebola outbreak ever. As at Friday November 7, 2014, some 13,241 people had contracted Ebola and 4,950 had lost their lives to the disease worldwide.
“In Nigeria, The Foundation supported the establishment of the National Ebola Emergency Operations Center in Lagos and ordered 12 temperature scanning systems on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health for screening of travelers transiting through international airports in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu.
“The scanning systems are scheduled to be deployed this month. Dangote Foundation has also donated 3,800 pieces of protective clothing for use by health workers across Nigeria. Dangote Foundation is also in the final stages of elaborating a partnership with the Wellcome Trust.”
