Google Lends a Hand in the Zika War

Google Lends a Hand in the Zika War

Google has just donated $1 million to UNICEF to be used to help combat the Zika virus. UNICEF plans to use the grant to increase widespread awareness of the virus, reduce mosquito populations in areas affected by the virus, support diagnostic and vaccine research, and help governments develop transmission prevention strategies.

This isn’t the first time Google has stepped up to the plate, however. This company is putting all hands on deck to support the prevention and treatment of the Zika virus. Google is lending its’ superior knowledge about data analysis and finding information on just about anything to help UNICEF develop a data processing platform designed to map information about the Zika virus. The hope is that this will help them visualize and prevent potential future Zika outbreaks.

Google claims that there has been a 3,000 percent increase in the last six months in the amount of global search interest in the Zika virus. In another effort to help out in the fight against this nasty virus, Google has added extensive information about the virus in 16 different languages. They’ve provided up-to-date information on Public Health Alerts to keep people informed as well as descriptions of the symptoms

What do you think of Google’s help? Are commercial companies doing enough to help during this difficult time? Should they be doing more?