Addis Ababa – On Sunday, a first planeload of donated medical equipment and protective clothing to Africa by Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma arrived in Ethiopia for further disbursement to other African states. By Tuesday, most African countries had started receiving their first consignments to help in their fight against #COVID-19, courtesy of the Jack Ma Foundation.
Jack Ma is worth US$38.9 billion on the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List today, making him Asia’s richest man. In September 2019, he stepped down as chairman of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba to focus on philanthropy.
The Chinese Billionaire pledged 1.8 million face masks and 210,000 #coronavirus test kits to some of Africa’s poorest nations, joining them in their fight against the global epidemic –coronavirus. Through his foundation, Ma has also pledged to hurriedly avail two million masks, 400 000 coronavirus test kits and financial aid to 24 Latin American countries. In a show of selflessness, the kind-hearted billionaire also extended a helping hand to the USA, Japan, Iran and Italy to help them fight the deadly virus.
African leaders, including South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame and Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa have hailed Ma’s humanitarian efforts towards Africa in the wake of #coronavirus. This donation to Africa has come at a time global shortages of essential medical and protective equipment have affected even the most developed economies.
In the United States of America, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was recently quoted saying more ventilators were needed to help his state handle the anticipated number of infected people needing treatment.
In fulfilling his selfless humanitarian works, Ma said he would be sending protective suits, ventilators and thermometers to vulnerable nations, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
For a world in conflict and nations in turmoil, Jack Ma has proven to be Africa’s saviour and a global unifier through his involvement in the global fight against #coronavirus.
