Facebook launches campaign against Ebola, including ‘Donate Now’ button

Together with global NGOs, Facebook has just announced three new ground-breaking initiatives in fight against the deadly Ebola virus that’s been responsible over 13 000 reported cases and the deaths of nearly 5 000 people across the globe.

First off, there will be a new virtual donation button that will enable you to easily support the International Medical Corps, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and Save the Children.

“We want to amplify these calls for action and help organizations raise awareness and connect directly with people around the world,” the company says. The pop-up button will appear in you News Feed and will start rolling out in the next few weeks.

Secondly, the big blue has partnered with UNICEF to show information on Ebola symptoms and treatment to people in targeted regions. These crucial messages appear in your News Feed in the “appropriate local language, focus on Ebola detection, prevention and treatment.”

The network is also working with NetHope to provide “vital communications capacity” to medical and aid workers in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Facebook will be donating 100 mobile satellite communication terminals for deployment in remote areas in West Africa “to provide voice and data services that meet the highest priority needs of medical and aid workers.”

On a personal level, this charitable gesture shouldn’t be too surprising. A few months ago, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg donated a nice US$25-million to the Centers for Disease Control Foundation to be used against the virus.

Read more: Facebook’s Internet.org app rolls-out to Tanzania

On a business level, we’ve reported before on Facebook’s health aspirations. The world’s largest social network — which boasts over 800 million daily active users — is rumoured to have been flirting with a healthcare service before.

In May 2012 when Facebook launched its very successful organ donor status program, when almost 60 000 people willingly updated their profiles to include an organ donor status.