Facebook said on Friday that it is committing to match $20 million in donations, a tiny fraction of its quarterly profit, to support global relief efforts for COVID-19 coronavirus.
Mark Zuckerberg, the social juggernaut’s chief executive, said Facebook was committing $10 million for the United Nations Foundation (UNF) and World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, and Facebook Fundraiser, and the remainder $10 million for the CDC Foundation, which will launch its Facebook Fundraiser in the coming weeks.
“More to come soon,” Zuckerberg said, possibly hinting that the company, which said this week that at least some of its contractors can’t work from home for a number of reasons, will do more in the future.
Also on Friday, Chinese ride-hailing giant DiDi Chuxing said it was committing to a $10 million special relief fund for ridesharing drivers and couriers in its international markets.
Microsoft and Amazon, two major Seattle-based tech companies, this week committed $1 million each to COVID-19 Response Fund.
Nations around the world are struggling to fully understand the new virus, its symptoms and spread. The virus has infected more than 132,000 individuals globally.
Source: TechCrunch
