Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma pledged to donate 1.8 million face masks and 210,000 coronavirus test kits to ten countries including Bangladesh, which have seen a rise in Covid-19 cases.
On Saturday (Mar 21), Jack Ma said on his official Twitter that Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka would receive face masks and test kits, as well as protective suits, ventilators and thermometers to assist their fight against the virus.
Go Asia! We will donate emergency supplies (1.8M masks, 210K test kits, 36K protective suits, plus ventilators & thermometers) to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan & Sri Lanka. Delivering fast is not easy, but we'll get it done!
— Jack Ma (@JackMa) March 21, 2020
“We cannot ignore the potential risk to Africa and assume this continent of 1.3 billion people will blissfully escape the crisis. The world cannot afford the unthinkable consequences of a Covid-19 pandemic in Africa," Jack Ma's private foundation said in a statement.
The foundation will send 1.1 million testing kits, six million masks and 60,000 protective suits and face shields to Ethiopia for distribution to Africa’s 54 nations, it said.
Last week, the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation announced they have prepared 500,000 testing kits and a million masks to be sent to the US, adding to those already donated to other affected countries including Japan, South Korea, Italy, Iran and Spain.
Mr Ma reclaimed the title of Asia’s richest man this month, after the collapse of oil prices and global stocks left Indian energy tycoon Mukesh Ambani $5.8 billion (Dh21.3bn) poorer. Mr Ma has a current net worth of $41bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, about $4.7bn more than Mr Ambani.
