Swedish retailer Ikea has donated 45m kronor (US$6.2m) to aid group Doctors Without Borders in France to help fight Ebola in West Africa. The figure becomes the largest amount ever donated to the French-founded group, which has around 2,000 workers deployed in West Africa.
The donation is likely to go towards funding Doctors Without Borders’ work until the end of 2015.
According to figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 3,000 people have died from Ebola since the virus first broke out in March.
Around 80 per cent of the aid organization’s funding comes from private donors, but Ikea has urged more global names to play their part. Per Heggenes, the CEO of the Ikea Foundation, the company’s corporate social responsibility arm, said they hope that now more private donors will follow suit.
He went on to say that the crisis is not going to disappear quickly nor will the pain people have suffered from losing their loved ones, which is why groups such as Doctors Without Borders must receive long-term help from partners such as the Ikea Foundation.
WHO states that the fatality rate of Ebola is as high as 90 per cent, but figures recorded during this outbreak show that 47 per cent of sufferers have survived. The virus is passed on by direct contact with body fluids and blood.
About IKEA Foundation
The IKEA Foundation aims to improve opportunities for children and youth in the world’s poorest communities by funding holistic, long-term programs that can create substantial, lasting change. The Foundation works with strong strategic partners applying innovative approaches to achieve large-scale results in four fundamental areas of a child’s life: a place to call home; a healthy start in life; a quality education; and sustainable family income. Currently-funded programs benefit an estimated 100 million children. Learn more at www.ikeafoundation.org, or find out about how we respond to emergencies here.
About Médecins Sans Frontières
MSF is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, exclusion from health care and natural disasters. MSF offers assistance to people based on need and irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation. In West Africa, the organisation operates five Ebola management centres providing a total of 502 hospital beds in isolation. More than 435 tonnes of supplies have been shipped to the affected countries since March. Learn more at www.msf.org