In response to the global coronavirus pandemic, the Graff Foundation has pledged a $1 million donation to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
The donation will aid the Fund’s critical work tracking and understanding the spread of the virus, mobilizing global resources, ensuring patients are given the correct care, providing essential supplies and information to healthcare workers and first responders, and aiding the development of vaccines, tests, and treatments.
The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund was set up at WHO’s request by the United Nations (U.N.) Foundation and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation. The Graff Foundation’s donation is being made through the U.N. Foundation.
The Fund’s resources are targeted to assist the most vulnerable countries, which are prioritized according to greatest need on a week-by-week basis. The Fund has bought and shipped PPE to 75 countries, supplied close to 1.8 million diagnostic kits to 126 countries, created and distributed technical and public health information, and supported drug trials that may help save the lives of those affected by COVID-19.
“COVID-19 is a textbook example of a global problem that requires global cooperation,” said Elizabeth Cousens, President & CEO of the U.N. Foundation. “I thank Graff for their commitment to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund – it could not be more clear that we need to work together across sectors to fight this pandemic.”
Francois Graff, trustee of the Graff Foundation, on behalf of the Graff family: “The challenge presented by the pandemic has had a profound effect on all of us at Graff. As an international business, it has been terrible to witness the speed with which the virus has spread, and the pain and uncertainty it is causing throughout the world. The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund is a vital tool in the global response to the virus. We are proud to contribute to its life-saving work and support the medical community and key workers who are heroically devoting their lives to caring for others during this global crisis.”
Funded by, but separate from, the Graff organization, the Graff Foundation is a United Kingdom-registered charity that supports philanthropic activities around the world.
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