Cat Foundation invests toward stopping Ebola
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- Published on Monday, 20 October 2014 17:12
- Written by Paul Gordon
The Caterpillar Foundation announced Monday it will invest $1 million toward addressing the Ebola crisis in West Africa.
The Foundation will provide an additional $1 million to the $7.5 million investment already made to The ONE Campaign for its advocacy work in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease in Africa, particularly to boost the organization’s response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
The donation will sustain response to Ebola crisis and support education and advocacy to strengthen health systems across Africa, the Foundation said.
“Our work to address extreme poverty and its symptomatic ills will be deeply affected if Ebola is not stopped,” said Michele Sullivan, president of the Caterpillar Foundation. “As a foundation, we feel there is a human and economic imperative to help ensure that health systems in Africa are strong and resilient. ONE is one of the best organizations advocating on global health issues and has recently been at the forefront of Ebola policy and advocacy efforts.
“This investment will leverage those skills to ensure the urgency of the Ebola crisis and its damaging effects on global health systems remains a top priority for political leadership and the public. The outcomes will help government officials put healthcare policies and measures into place aimed at protecting the citizens and stopping the spread of Ebola.”
ONE has responded vigorously to the Ebola crisis, with a particular focus on resource mobilization and donor accountability; communications and advocacy messaging; and social mobilization among its 2 million African members. (RED), a division of ONE, helps to amplify this work through creative and innovative storytelling platforms, the Foundation said.
“As this crisis unfolds, this partnership will allow ONE to continue to advocate for short-and long-term responses to Ebola, acknowledging the effects the disease is having on every sector of society,” said Michael Elliott, ONE president and CEO. “Ebola has not only taken more than 4,000 lives, it has also broken down health systems, closed schools, shut down agricultural markets and hampered economic growth. There’s much to be done to support the countries affected in the short term and then helping them rebuild stronger than before.”
Caterpillar had a small contingent working in Liberia on a special project until July, when they were evacuated because of the Ebola outbreak there, said Caterpillar spokeswoman Lisa Miller. She said the company decided to donate the money to ONE and its efforts in West Africa because that is where the crisis began. “We want to support the effort to go to the root of the problem,” she said.
