We already know that Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan are philanthropists. And, this time, they want their donation to change the world for better. Over the next decade, this couple will donate $3 billion to end disease in the world.
Mark Zuckerberg And Priscilla Chan Pledge $3 Billion To End Disease
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, his wife, who is also a pediatrician, have decided to devote themselves to a cause – curing disease. Their goal is to “work together to cure, prevent or manage all disease within our children’s lifetime,” Dr. Chan said during an event in San Francisco for the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, the couple’s humanitarian group.
Dr. Chan shared emotional stories such as parents telling their children they have an incurable disease and will not live long. Her painful experiences made Priscilla determined to work together and save as many lives as possible. So, how long does this couple expect their new project will last? Well, they are taking their child’s lifetime as a due date.
In addition, the couple is also funding $600 million research center in San Francisco called the Biohub that is a partnership with UC San Francisco, Stanford University, and UC Berkeley.
The new independent research facility, Biohub, is supposed to develop new tools that can measure and treat disease. Chan also said that these donations would bring together leading scientists. Joseph DeRisi, a UCSF biochemist, and Stephen Quake, a Stanford professor of bioengineering, will run the facility. The first two research projects the scientists will run are The Cell Atlas and the Infectious Disease Initiative. The Cell Atlas is supposed to create a map of the different types of cells that control the body’s major organs. The Infectious Disease Initiative will explore new approaches and develop new tools for creating drugs, diagnostic tests, and vaccines that could aid the fight against such threats as HIV, Ebola, and Zika.
“We plan to invest billions of dollars over decades,” Zuckerberg said. “But it will take years for these tools to be developed and longer to put them into full use. This is hard and we need to be patient, but it’s important.”
Even though it may seem that the generous $3 billion can solve all our problems, they are not nearly enough. We definitely should admire Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s efforts, but they can only cover the basic research. However, this research should make a difference in the long run. It may seem funny, but billionaires can’t solve the world’s ills on their own. However, they certainly can help fill the gaps in research that other organizations, such as the National Institutes of Health, can’t cover.
You can check out Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s announcement in the video below.
