The Alibaba Foundation and Jack Ma Foundation, philanthropic organizations established by Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. founder Jack Ma, announced they have donated face masks, face shields, test kits and protective gears to Israel to support the country in its war against the coronavirus. As the number of coronavirus cases in Israel is increasing at an alarming rate, such donations are essential. In fact, hospitals across the country have recently reported a lack of protective equipment, putting healthcare workers and their patients' lives at risk. Furthermore, recent reports have also found that hospitals may face a shortage of equipment such as respirators. Two shipments departed from Shanghai, China, and arrived in Tel Aviv earlier this week. The donations are part of a number of other initiatives led by the two foundations to help countries most affected by the coronavirus. Over the past few weeks, they have been sending medical supplies to the United States and a number of countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe, including France and Italy. Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation will donate additional urgent equipment including 800 ventilators, 300,000 sets of protective gowns and 300,000 face shields to hospitals in Europe. #OneWorldOneFight — Jack Ma Foundation (@foundation_ma) March 30, 2020 From Hangzhou via Liege to Rome - medical supplies have reached their final destination and been handed over to the Italian Red Cross. Big thanks to everyone, and more masks and test kits are on the way. Let's move faster than this virus. Vinceremo! pic.twitter.com/qmbFFBXIS3 — Jack Ma Foundation (@foundation_ma) March 17, 2020 We join hands with Asian neighbors to fight Covid-19! We and Alibaba Foundation will donate 2 million masks, 150k test kits, 20k protective suits and 20k face shields to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. More help to other Asian nations is on the way! Go Asia! — Jack Ma Foundation (@foundation_ma) March 19, 2020 The foundations are also funding research projects to develop coronavirus treatments, in China, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Australia and Columbia University in the United States. They have also published and distributed a handbook on lessons and best practices for treating COVID-19 patients from the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine. More recently, the Jack Ma Foundation launched an online platform for doctors and nurses around the world to exchange ideas, lessons and knowhow to fight the coronavirus.
