The Zuckerbergs’ $3 Billion Health Investment Meant To Rid The World Of Diseases

As one of the richest couples in the world, Mark Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan have a lot of money to spend. However, even for the founder of Facebook, $3 billion is still a huge investment. That’s exactly how much they are pledging for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, however, which is meant to cure all of the world’s diseases.

As The New York Times reports, the wealthy couple had already committed 99 percent of their shares in Facebook to charity the previous year. This time, they are putting a solid number on how much they are willing to give to a good cause. The $3 billion will be spent on a decade-long crusade to rid the world of its most serious diseases.

The foundation had actually already contributed to multiple causes, including charter schools as well as startups that were related to education. However, the money that the couple is promising is the initiative’s first major impact when it comes to scientific efforts. Then again, curing diseases is more in line with what Dr. Chan specializes in since she is a trained pediatrician.

In a speech she made about the initiative, Dr. Chan described how the move would contribute to the advancement of human potential. She also spoke about the importance of high-quality education, using her case as an example of what it can do for disadvantaged people.

“We want to dramatically improve every life in Max’s generation and make sure we don’t miss a single soul. We’ll be investing in basic science research with the goal of curing disease,” Dr. Chan stated.

Max is actually the couple’s daughter whose full name is Maxima. It was when she was born that the couple decided to pursue charitable actions in earnest.

During the presentation, Mark Zuckerberg himself came out to explain exactly which diseases they plan to tackle with the initiative, Tech Crunch reports. Among the biggest targets listed include cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases, and infectious diseases.