Bill Gates and wife Melinda donate another $195 million to fight coronavirus

The generous contribution comes after the Microsoft founder slammed US President Donald Trump for halting WHO funding.

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has donated nearly $A195 million to help fight and cure the coronavirus pandemic through his foundation with wife Melinda.

The massive contribution to help battle the health crisis that has claimed the lives of more than 255,000 people worldwide will be broken up between diagnostics, therapies and vaccines.

Nearly $A80 million will be given to Gavi, an international organisation dedicated to improving children’s access to vaccines, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said in a statement.

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The rest of the donation will go towards developing and distributing coronavirus diagnostics and therapeutics and adds to a previous commitment.

The organisation has now donated more than $A466 million in response to the pandemic.

“In order to beat COVID-19, the world needs more than great science,” foundation co-chair Melinda Gates said.

To overcome #COVID19 the world doesn’t just need science. It needs a commitment to help people beat this virus wherever they live. Our foundation is proud to support this effort and will join in pledging the resources & brainpower to confront this globally. https://t.co/kDGbXSpkAa

— Melinda Gates (@melindagates) May 4, 2020

“It needs great humanity, the commitment to help people beat this virus no matter where they live. This effort will help us do that.

“With the collective resources and brainpower pledged today, we’ll finally be able to attack this virus in the way it is attacking us – globally.”

Melinda and Bill Gates have donated hundreds of millions to help fight coronavirus. Picture: Getty Images/Getty Images

The generous donation comes after the Microsoft founder scolded US President Donald Trump over his decision to halt funding to the World Health Organisation (WHO), after Mr Trump blamed its mismanagement for the outbreak of the deadly virus.

Mr Gates said in a tweet the order was “as dangerous as it sounds”.

“Their work is slowing the spread of COVID-19 and if that work is stopped no other organisation can replace them. The world needs WHO now more than ever.”

The virus has killed more than 255,000 people worldwide so far. Picture: John Minchillo/AP

The American Medical Association reiterated Mr Gates’ disgust at the decision last month.

“During the worst public health crisis in a century, halting funding to the World Health Organisation (WHO) is a dangerous step in the wrong direction that will not make defeating COVID-19 easier,” its president Dr Patrice Harris said in a statement.

Mr Trump said at the time his administration would be reviewing WHO’s “role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of coronavirus”.

“Had the WHO done its job to get medical experts into China to objectively assess the situation on the ground and to call out China’s lack of transparency, the outbreak could have been contained at its source with very little death,” Mr Trump said.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is one of WHO’s biggest voluntary donors, providing $836 million over the past two years.