On his personal Twitter page, which launched this week, Alibaba Group Founder Jack Ma stressed the importance of staying one step ahead as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic continue to ripple across the globe.
“We cannot ignore the potential risk to Africa and assume this continent of 1.3 billion people will blissfully escape the crisis,” he said, adding, “we can take precautions now and get prepared ahead of time, as Africa can benefit from the experience and lessons from other countries that were earlier hit hard by the virus.”
The medical supplies donated by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation will be delivered to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, where Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali has agreed to take the lead in overseeing their distribution to other African countries. The foundations also announced plans to provide online training materials to help medical institutions in Africa cope with coronavirus cases.
Aside from offering support to African nations, the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation have also donated medical supplies to other countries hardest hit by the virus, including Japan, South Korea, the U.S., Italy, Spain and Belgium. The foundations have also provided funding to establishments such as the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Australia and Columbia University in the U.S. to support research into coronavirus vaccines and treatment.
Addressing the need to share resources and knowledge to combat the health crisis, Ma tweeted: “As members of the global community, it would be irresponsible of us to sit on the fence, panic, ignore facts or fail to act. We need to take action now!”
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