Rockefeller Foundation announces $3 million for data science platform

Two data scientists work on a computer.

The Rockefeller Foundation has announced $3 million in funding for Global.health (G.h), a leading open-source platform for scientific pandemic data. 

The funding was made through RF Catalytic Capital, Inc. (RFCC), the foundation’s public charity launched in September 2020 as an innovative tool for foundations, impact investors, businesses, and governments to combine their resources to scale funding solutions and bring about transformational change during the COVID-19 response and recovery. The latest commitment will enable G.h to expand its international partnerships and modernize the global effort for coordinated pandemic prevention, surveillance, and response. To that end, G.h. plans to collaborate with the WHO Hub for Epidemic and Pandemic Intelligence in Berlin, the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) in the UK, and the Gorgas Memorial Institute in Panama. 

“It’s time to take data collection and analytics for better public health to the next level. The scientists behind Global.health are advancing digital innovation and collaboration to establish a global early warning system for pandemics. As part of this effort, they will link up diverse data sets connecting, among other things, climate, and health, so we can better detect early warning signals for new disease outbreaks linked to our warming planet,” said Rockefeller Foundation Health Initiative senior vice president Naveen Rao. “We are delighted to expand our support for this important initiative.” 

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