The Alibaba Foundation, the charitable foundation funded by Alibaba Group, and the Jack Ma Foundation, established by Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, announced they were donating 100 million face masks, 1 million N95 masks and 1 million test kits to the World Health Organization (WHO) to support its ongoing fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. The WHO will receive the medical supplies – which represent the largest single donation by the foundations to date – in the coming days and distribute the supplies to the countries and regions in urgent need.
During WHO’s daily media briefing held on April 20, WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged the donation and Jack Ma’s ongoing commitment to support the global fight against Covid-19: “I also want to highlight the Jack Ma Foundation’s donation of 100 million masks, 1 million N95 masks and 1 million test kits to WHO. We had a very productive discussion with Jack Ma yesterday and he would like to continue to support countries in need.”
The donation to the WHO is the latest effort by the Alibaba Foundation and Jack Ma Foundation to support the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Since February, the Foundations have sourced and delivered various types of medical supplies to over 150 countries and regions across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America.
Last week, the WHO, the African Union and United Nations World Food Programme announced a United Nations “Solidarity Flight” which provided a large quantity of medical and personal protective equipment donated by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation to all countries in Africa.
The WHO also previously supported the distribution of the first and second donations of medical supplies from the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation to the 54 countries of Africa. These supplies were also transported with the help of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Government, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), World Food Programme (WFP), and Ethiopian Airlines.
In addition to global donations of medical supplies, the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation have launched a number of global initiatives to support global medical communities in their fight against Covid19. The Foundations established the Global MediXchange for Combating Covid-19 (GMCC) program for medical experts around the world to communicate seamlessly with each other and share their invaluable experience of fighting Covid-19. The Foundations have also published and distributed two handbooks, available in multiple languages and detailing learnings and best practices from the First and Second Affiliated Hospitals, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, for treating Covid-19 patients: https://covid19.alibabacloud.com/.
The Jack Ma Foundation is also funding research and development of Covid-19 vaccines and virus treatment options in China, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Australia and at Columbia University in the US.
About Jack Ma Foundation
Established by Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group, the Jack Ma Foundation was founded on 15 December 2014 and has been focusing on education, entrepreneurship, women’s leadership, and the environment. The Foundation aspires to be a reliable, participative, and sustainable philanthropic organisation. The Jack Ma Foundation has so far supported projects worldwide including the Jack Ma Rural Education Program, the African Entrepreneurs Prize, the Ma & Morley Scholarship Program, and Jordan’s Queen Rania Foundation. Additionally, the Foundation has also funded a number of projects in its priority areas. The Jack Ma Foundation is committed to empowering rural educators, entrepreneurs, rural children, young start-ups, and women to equip them for the future and to help build a happier, healthier, more sustainable and more inclusive society.
About Alibaba Foundation
The Alibaba Foundation, established in December 2011, aims to create a culture that encourages people to get involved in philanthropy, make it sustainable and genuinely contribute to civil society and nature. Its key funding aspects include water protection, environmental awareness promotion and development of green organizations. Alibaba Group is committed to devoting a percentage of its annual income to the Alibaba Foundation to ensure stable long-term funding that will allow for timely response in the event of natural disasters or expansion of philanthropic projects