Facebook commits USD 20M in donations to support COVID-19 relief efforts

The first-of-its-kind COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund is hosted by the UN Foundation and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation.

Facebook announced on Friday that it is matching USD20 million in donations to support COVID-19 relief efforts globally. The Social networking giant is matching up to USD 10 million in donations to the Solidarity Response Fund and another USD 10 million to the CDC Foundation, which will launch a fundraiser in the next few weeks.

In a Facebook post, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, "A lot of people have told us they want to help fight coronavirus but aren't sure how, so we've worked with the United Nations Foundation and the World Health Organization to start a COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, where anyone can go to make a donation."

Zuckerberg said that 100 percent of the COVID-19 funds will directly support the work to prevent, detect and respond to the outbreak around the world. 

The first-of-its-kind COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund is hosted by the UN Foundation and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation. It enables individuals, corporations, foundations, and other organizations around the world to directly support WHO’s global work to help countries prevent, detect, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in accordance with the WHO Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan.

Donations support efforts to track and understand the spread of the virus; to ensure patients get the care they need and frontline workers get essential supplies and information; and to accelerate efforts to develop vaccines, tests, and treatments. The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund will report on a periodic basis (at a minimum every three months) of how the donated funds are being used.

Commenting on the launch, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said," We are immensely grateful to the UN Foundation and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation for coming forward to help us set up this fund. A lot of people and institutions have been saying they want to contribute to the fight against the novel coronavirus. Now they can."