Michael Bloomberg: The media mogul supporting Africa and the world to combat COVID-19
For a man who had just spent an estimated $1 billion on his three-month Democratic Party presidential campaign that ended on March 4, it came as a surprise to many when Michael Bloomberg announced barely two weeks after that he will be extending his philanthropism beyond the shores of the United States by donating to Africa to support the continent’s fight against COVID-19.
Bloomberg, 78, is an American media billionaire and founder of financial information and media company Bloomberg LP.
After launching an effort to help US mayors manage COVID-19, he announced on March 17, 2020, that he would be donating $40 million to support “immediate action” to fight the spread of the coronavirus in Africa and low and middle-income countries around the world.
His intervention came quite early, at a time many Africans were yet to come to terms with the looming danger and just before the virus tilted the continent off balance. When Bloomberg announced the donations on March 17, Africa had only 424 confirmed cases and 11 deaths in 29 countries, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“Millions of lives depend on getting the coronavirus response right – and so does the economic and social health of communities around the world. We need to slow transmission of the virus and minimize the impact of the outbreak in all countries,” Bloomberg said in a statement announcing his donation.
He had said his charitable organisation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, would use the $40 million to fund the deployment of rapid response teams to detect and treat outbreaks, and train healthcare workers fighting the disease in less developed countries. The contribution will also support lab networks working with the virus and efforts to measure the efficacy of containment strategies in communities around the world.
With no vaccine approved yet for the treatment of the virus, contact tracing and testing of as many suspected cases as possible have been identified by the WHO as one of the most efficient ways to manage and curb the spread of the virus. In April, Bloomberg announced that he is developing three smartphone apps to help New York trace every person who comes into contact with someone infected with COVID-19.
According to Bloomberg, the first app would help the contact tracers find information and data quickly, the second will allow the public to send data directly to local health departments and the third will provide guidance to people in quarantine and allow them to report any symptoms.
“When social distancing is relaxed, contact tracing is our best hope for isolating the virus when it appears and keeping it isolated,” Bloomberg said during a press conference with New York governor Andrew Cuomo.
According to Forbes, as of April 23, Bloomberg has committed at least $74.5 million to COVID-19 response. This remarkable gesture earned him a place among the 40 people on the Neusroom 100 project helping the world overcome the pandemic.
