Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife have pledged more than $3 billion to help rid the world of disease.

Zuckerberg and his paediatrician wife Priscilla Chan made the announcement about the funding at an event for their philanthropic organisation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Dr Chan said at the event that she was inspired to help by the birth of their daughter Max, and the goal to improve life for all children in future.

Having to tell parents that their child was seriously ill or had an incurable disease was also a driving factor, she told the audience in San Francisco.

Zuckerberg also wrote a note on Facebook outlining his ambitious plans to "cure, prevent or manage all diseases by the end of this century."

The couple will use the money to bring scientists and engineers together "to build new tools that can empower the whole scientific community to make breakthroughs on the four major disease categories".

The major diseases they are hoping to tackle are cancer, neurological disease like stroke, heart disease, and infectious disease.

"We are optimistic that it is possible to cure, prevent or manage all disease in our children's lifetime," the note says.

"This is about the future we want for our daughter and children everywhere.

"If there's a chance that we can help cure all diseases in our children's lifetimes, then we will do our part."

The couple say the $3 billion is just a start, and that they plan to invest billions of dollars over decades.