Charity fundraising program infuses impetus to international anti-epidemic cooperation

 By Zhang Fan

 

The China Population Welfare Foundation (CPWF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have jointly launched a charity fundraising program in Beijing to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The program, which is called COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO-Action of China, aims to raise money via some 20 Internet-based Chinese fundraising platforms and facilitate international cooperation in combating the novel coronavirus.

 

While human beings are experiencing the worst global public health crisis since the World War II, the WHO has fought the battle against COVID-19 together with all countries starting from the very beginning.

 

The organization has not only notified countries of the pandemic and issued warnings against the outbreak, but also provided technical guidance and strategic advice on containing the epidemic.

 

Meanwhile, it has helped guarantee medical supplies for countries and regions in need and speeded up in developing vaccines, diagnostics and medicines.

 

At every critical point in the fight against the epidemic, the WHO has offered professional advice in time based on science and fulfilled its duties, greatly guiding and promoting global anti-pandemic cooperation and winning high praise from the international community.

 

Amid the outbreak, the WHO plays a crucial role in coordinating the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an official statement issued by the Belgian government on May 30.

 

The WHO has supported countries in saving lives, noted Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

 

Experts pointed out that as long as a single country fails to contain the epidemic, the virus is sure to spread globally.

 

Developing countries, especially African countries, have relatively weak public health systems, so the top priority in international anti-pandemic response is to help them build a solid line of defense.

 

In March, the WHO initiated the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, calling on individuals, businesses and charities to donate money for global response to the outbreak.

 

The donations, which will be mainly used to help countries with relatively weak public health systems, will enable medical workers fighting on the front line to obtain much-needed medical supplies, grant medical workers and communities easier access to scientific epidemic-related information and improve the capability of vulnerable countries in discovering and tracking cases.

 

The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund is an emergency measure taken by the WHO to help countries deal with the epidemic and an effort of the organization to save lives and should be supported by the international society.

 

To support WHO is to support international cooperation and the battle for saving lives as well. Such a concept has actively been carried out by China and should also become a consensus in the world.

 

China has always participated in global anti-epidemic actions and firmly supported WHO’s leadership in international cooperation in combating COVID-19.

 

After the outbreak, China has donated a total of $50 million to the WHO, set up a special fund for anti-epidemic cooperation worth of two billion yuan, and provided medical supplies for the organization and other countries.

 

The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO-Action of China serves as another practical measure of the country to support the WHO. It demonstrates China’s sincerity in safeguarding the life and health of people from all countries and its sense of responsibility to promote the building a community of common health for mankind and international anti-epidemic cooperation.

 

Humankind lives in a community with a shared future, and solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful weapon in the face of COVID-19. The world needs more than ever a strong international organization like the WHO to survive the crisis.

 

The world does not lack the tools, the science, or the resources to make it safer from pandemics, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, adding that what it has lacked is the sustained commitment to use the tools, the science and the resources it has.

 

The epidemic has reminded the world in a bitter way that countries and individuals should always support and help each other , forming a unified force in the battle against the virus.

 

Although separated by mountains and rivers, people around the world are close at heart. Ever since the charity fundraising program was launched, many netizens have responded actively with generous donations.

 

It is hoped that such kindness and goodwill gathered together will infuse impetus to international cooperation on anti-epidemic and save more lives.

 

Photo shows the launching ceremony of the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO-Action of China. (Photo from the official website of the China Population Welfare Foundation)