Google is donating $1 million to fight the spread of the Zika virus and offering engineers and data scientists help to determine where it will hit next. A team of engineers, designers and data scientists will build a platform to process data from different sources such as weather and travel patterns to be able to predict potential outbreaks. “It has also updated its products to make information on Zika more available”.
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In addition to the search based efforts, the company has also partnered with YouTube creators and channels, including Sesame Street, to help spread information on Zika prevention through the video-sharing site.
The social networking giant can be really resourceful with that outsized data and years of experience to help people find more information at a higher pace and larger scale.
The Zika virus outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) in February. But federal health officials said there’s only $9 million left of the original $238 million in funding the National Institutes of Health received for Ebola virus research.
What is the Zika virus?
The spread of this virus is harder to identify and map.
The White House will convene a summit in April with state and local officials in an effort to control the mosquito spreading Zika virus, administration officials confirmed Friday. Those searching for Zika in 16 languages will now see extensive information including symptoms and Public Health Alerts that will constantly be updating.
GOOGLEGoogle will be providing logistical and financial support in the battle against Zika virus, according to an announcement posted yesterday (March 3) on the company’s official blog.
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A team of engineers from Google are volunteering with UNICEF to crunch data and map data related to the Zika virus. According to Mashable, the United Nations program hopes to reach 200 million affected or vulnerable people throughout Latin America. Raising people’s awareness about how to protect themselves from infection is therefore key to combating Zika, as is supporting organizations dedicated to developing diagnostics and vaccines. We’ve also launched a matching campaign for Google employees, aimed at providing an additional $500,000 to UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to support their work on the ground.
