• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, November 6, 2014

If a bit late to the crisis, Facebook is rolling out several services to fight the further spread of Ebola.

Chief among them is a new donation feature, which will commandeer users' news feeds to raise awareness and funds for Ebola-fighting organizations, including the International Medical Corps, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and Save the Children.

“Over the next week, people on Facebook will see a message at the top of News Feed with an option to donate,” Naomi Gleit, vice president of product management and Chris Daniels, vice president of Internet.org, explained in a co-authored blog post on Thursday.

The social giant is collaborating with UNICEF to provide Facebook users with information on Ebola symptoms and treatment to people in targeted regions.

Facebook has also enlisted the help of NetHope -- a consortium of 41 international NGOs -- to provide a priority communications capacity to medical and aid workers in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Its battle against Ebola is just the latest effort by Facebook to address broader humanitarian and safely concerns. Just last month, it rolled out Safety Check -- a service for people to let loved ones know they are safe during major disasters.

Not entirely selfless, these efforts serve to strengthen ties between Facebook and its 1.3 billion users, and further establish Facebook.com as an indispensable consumer resource for timely information and personal connections.  

Massive though it is, the social giant faces continuous threats from rival networks, while growing privacy concerns among users are fueling demand for alternative platforms.