Zuckerberg joins Gates in donating $25 million to fight Ebola

Mark Zuckerberg and wife Pricilla, announced on Tuesday that they are donating $25 million to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to fight the deadly disease Ebola.

Zucerberg wrote in a Facebook post: "The Ebola epidemic is at a critical turning point. It has infected 8,400 people so far, but it is spreading very quickly and projections suggest it could infect 1 million people or more over the next several months if not addressed. We need to get Ebola under control in the near term so that it doesn't spread further and become a long term global health crisis that we end up fighting for decades at large scale, like HIV or polio."

The money will directly help frontline responders who are setting up care centers, training local staff, and identifying Ebola cases.

Bill Gates made a $50 million donation last month to fight Ebola via The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. That donation was made in an effort to support emergency efforts to contain the outbreak in West Africa.

Sue Desmond-Hellmann, CEO of the Gates Foundation, said in a statement: "We are working urgently with our partners to identify the most effective ways to help them save lives now and stop transmission of this deadly disease. We also want to accelerate the development of treatments, vaccines and diagnostics that can help end this epidemic and prevent future outbreaks."