--- title: WHO Launches Solidarity Response Fund to Fight Coronavirus description: WHO launched the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for companies, philanthropies and individuals to donate to in the midst of the pandemic. canonical: https://time.com/5802413/who-covid-19-fund-coronavirus-pandemic/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-03-13T16:20:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T19:05:44.000Z article:section: Health og:title: WHO Launches Historic Fundraising Effort to Fight Coronavirus Pandemic og:description: The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund is aiming to raise $675 million by the end of next month og:url: https://time.com/5802413/who-covid-19-fund-coronavirus-pandemic/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt66fc9eb9f0d84b3b/698a0b7e4ee26251e131737d/who-covid-19-fund.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TOPSHOT-SWITZERLAND-HEALTH-VIRUS-WHO og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: WHO Launches Historic Fundraising Effort to Fight Coronavirus Pandemic twitter:description: The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund is aiming to raise $675 million by the end of next month twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt66fc9eb9f0d84b3b/698a0b7e4ee26251e131737d/who-covid-19-fund.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # WHO Launches Historic Fundraising Effort to Fight Coronavirus Pandemic by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Updated: Dec 12, 2023 7:05 PM UTCPublished: Mar 13, 2020 4:20 PM UTC  World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a daily press briefing on COVID-19 virus at the WHO headquarters in Geneva on March 11, 2020. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a daily press briefing on COVID-19 virus at the WHO headquarters in Geneva on March 11, 2020.Fabrice Coffrini—Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Updated: Dec 12, 2023 7:05 PM UTCPublished: Mar 13, 2020 4:20 PM UTC The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a first-of-its-kind fundraising drive for companies, philanthropies and individuals to contribute to as it continues to fight the growing [coronavirus pandemic.](https://time.com/5791661/who-coronavirus-pandemic-declaration/) The United Nations Foundation and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation will manage the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund to address the need for money to prepare for and respond to the spread of the coronavirus. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the new fund on Friday. The organization anticipates a need of $675 million through April to address the worldwide outbreak, and said funding needs will likely increase as the crisis evolves. “We hope it will become the foremost way for businesses, individuals and philanthropies to get involved in this fight against this virus on a global scale, which is exactly what we need at this moment,” Kate Dodson, vice president of global health at the UN Foundation, told reporters. _Keep up to date with our daily coronavirus newsletter by clicking_ [_here_](https://slack-redir.net/link?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcloud.newsletters.time.com%2Fcoronavirus%3Fsource%3Darticle)_._ The money will be used to support efforts in tracking and understanding the spread of COVID-19, ensuring that patients can access the care they need and that frontline workers can get supplies and information, and accelerating the development of vaccines, tests and treatments, according to UN Foundation representatives. > [](https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1238496787041845249) Scott Pendergast, director for strategic planning at WHO’s emergency preparedness and response program, told reporters donations to the fund will be used to provide medical equipment, such as ventilators and oxygen, along with personal protective supplies to countries, particularly those with weaker healthcare systems, in an effort to ramp up their responses to COVID-19. “One of the major actions is making sure that countries are prepared for and can respond to COVID-19, and this includes putting in place coordination mechanisms at the country level,” Pendergast said. Businesses, philanthropies and individuals from all over the world are encouraged to donate to the fund by visiting [www.COVID19Fund.org](http://www.covid19fund.org/) or contact [COVID19Fund@unfoundation.org](mailto:COVID19Fund@unfoundation.org) to send a check or wire money. _Please send any tips, leads, and stories to_ [_virus@time.com_](mailto:virus@time.com)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5802413/who-covid-19-fund-coronavirus-pandemic/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5802413/who-covid-19-fund-coronavirus-pandemic/"},"headline":"WHO Launches Historic Fundraising Effort to Fight Coronavirus Pandemic","datePublished":"2020-03-13T16:20:18.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T19:05:44.000Z","description":"The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund is aiming to raise $675 million by the end of next month","url":"https://time.com/5802413/who-covid-19-fund-coronavirus-pandemic/","keywords":["Brief","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt66fc9eb9f0d84b3b/698a0b7e4ee26251e131737d/who-covid-19-fund.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt66fc9eb9f0d84b3b/698a0b7e4ee26251e131737d/who-covid-19-fund.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TOPSHOT-SWITZERLAND-HEALTH-VIRUS-WHO","caption":"TOPSHOT-SWITZERLAND-HEALTH-VIRUS-WHO","creditText":"Fabrice Coffrini—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5802413/who-covid-19-fund-coronavirus-pandemic/","name":"WHO Launches Historic Fundraising Effort to Fight Coronavirus Pandemic"}}]}] ```