Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan announced on Tuesday their plans to donate $25 million to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help fight Ebola.

Zuckerberg believes that the deadly virus is at a "critical turning point," infecting at least 8,000 people and killing more than 4,000 so far, making it by far the worst in history. "Projections suggest it could infect 1 million people or more over the next several months if not addressed," he said in a statement posted to his Facebook page.

The World Health Organization has estimated that at least $1 billion will be needed to stop the epidemic, and the grant from the couple's fund at the nonprofit Silicon Valley Community Foundation is for the CDC's aid in the most affected countries in West Africa -- especially Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, as well as "anywhere in the world where Ebola poses a threat to health."

"We need to get Ebola under control in the near term so that it doesn't spread further and become a long term global health crisis that we end up fight for decades at large scale, like HIV or polio," said Zuckerberg.

"We believe our grant is the quickest way to empower the CDC and the experts in this field to prevent this outcome," he continued. "Grants like this directly help the frontline responders in their heroic work. These people are on the ground setting up care centers, training local staff, identifying Ebola cases and much more."

Charles Stokes, president and chief executive of the Atlanta-based nonprofit, said that the social media CEO's gift would provide "flexible funding allowing CDC to address the most pressing needs as the epidemic shifts and evolves."

"This significant contribution from Mark Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan will help us rapidly advance the fight against Ebola," CDC Director Tom Frieden said.

Post by Mark Zuckerberg.