Alibaba and Jack Ma funds to help Uzbekistan fight coronavirus

The Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation today announced donations of essential medical supplies to seven more countries, namely Azerbaijan, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

An India bound flight loaded with the first batch of medical supplies donated by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation departed Shanghai, China yesterday. The donations arrived at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport last night and were received by the Indian Red Cross Society which would help distribute the supplies across the country.

The supplies are part of the donation pledged to seven more countries announced today by the two foundations, namely Azerbaijan, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Collectively, these seven countries will receive a total of 1.7 million face masks, 165,000 test kits as well as protective clothing and medical equipment such as ventilators and forehead thermometers. With this announcement, the two Foundations have now donated essential medical supplies to 23 Asian countries totalling 7.4 million masks; 485,000 test kits; 100,000 sets of protective clothing along with other medical equipment.

More initiatives and donations may be announced in the coming days and weeks. The Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation also supported the publication of a handbook with key lessons and experience from doctors, health care workers, and hospital administrators at the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine (FAHZU), who were on the frontline of COVID-19 treatment in China and crucial to slowing its spread.