Facebook joins fight against Ebola

 Facebook, the world’s biggest social network, has joined the global fight against Ebola, the company said in a statement.

Facebook will publish a request for donations to go directly to nonprofit organizations working on the ground against the deadly virus, a news Agency Reported.

“Over the next week, people on Facebook will see a message at the top of News Feed with an option to donate to three different nonprofits doing important work on the ground in West Africa: International Medical Corps, the  Red Cross and Save the Children,” the statement said.

“If they want to, people can also choose to share that they donated on Facebook,” said Naomi Gleit, Facebook’s vice president of product management.

In collaboration with the UNICEF, UN’s children’s agency, Facebook also launched a health education initiative, which will display information on Ebola symptoms and treatment to people in targeted regions on Facebook.

The company also said that it will provide Internet connectivity in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to help medical and aid workers track cases and coordinate their response.

“I want to make sure Facebook does its part to help fight Ebola,” the network’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, said, adding that “stopping Ebola is an important global challenge, and together we can make a difference.”

On Oct. 14, Zuckerberg announced that he and his wife are donating $25 million to the Centers for Disease Control Foundation to help fight Ebola.

Ebola has killed close to 5,000 people until now, according to the World Health Organization. (APP)