Alibaba’s Jack Ma donates coronavirus testing kits to US, Africa

In overcoming a pandemic such as the coronavirus, collaboration and cooperation between nations across the world is paramount.

Chinese billionaire, philanthropist, and founder of the e-commerce behemoth Alibaba, Jack Ma is the quintessential example of how everyone needs to help everyone in this time of crisis.

Ma, through his Jack Ma Foundation, has sent the first shipment of surgical masks and coronavirus testing kits to the United States recently. Ma tweeted a picture of the consignment being loaded onto a China Eastern Airlines aircraft in Shanghai with a heartwarming message that said, “The first shipment of masks and coronavirus test kits to the US is taking off from Shanghai. All the best to our friends in America.”

Apart from this, Ma’s foundation has also pledged to donate 1.1 million testing kits, six million masks, and thousands of protective suits to nations in the African continent to help them fight the deadly virus. The foundation will also collaborate with local medical organizations and institutions to provide them with online training material for coronavirus clinical treatments.

This consignment will be delivered to the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed will subsequently supervise the distribution of these goods to the rest of the African nations.

He is also sending a consignment of medical supplies to European nations, which have now emerged as the hotbed for the virus.

“Now it is as if we were all living in the same forest on fire. As members of the global community, it will be irresponsible of us to sit on the fence, panic, ignore facts, or fail to act. We need to take action now,” Ma said.

A host of other billionaires and philanthropists across the world are urging for international cooperation to fight this crisis.

For instance, co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates has pledged $100 million through his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help combat the spread of the coronavirus.

We certainly believe that the key to fighting this fatal virus that is spreading exponentially is international cooperation. We urge many other world leaders to join the efforts. Do you agree?