Rihanna’s foundation donates $5 million to COVID-19 relief operations

Rihanna at the 51st NAACP Image Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. Image: AP/Chris Pizzello

Rihanna’s nonprofit organization, Clara Lionel Foundation, has donated $5 million (P254.8 million) to various efforts around the globe that are fighting the spread of COVID-19.

“When we first began this year, never could we have imagined how COVID-19 would so dramatically alter our lives,” the group said in a statement yesterday, March 21.

“It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, this pandemic will affect us all,” it stressed. “And for the world’s most vulnerable, the worst may be yet to come.”

The organization has partnered with various on-the-ground teams such as the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, the International Rescue Committee, Partners in Health, Direct Relief and Feeding America for their relief operations.

The funds will be used to support food banks serving at-risk communities and the elderly in the United States, testing in countries such as Haiti and Malawi and support for native communities.

It will also provide personal protective equipment for health workers, the establishment of intensive care units and the acceleration of the development of vaccines. Training for medical staff and the distribution of respiratory supplies will also be supported by the foundation.

“We know that one of the most powerful weapons we have against COVID-19 is preparedness,” the group pointed out. “Protecting our frontline health workers and marginalized communities around the world requires getting ahead of it FAST. The time to act is now.”

Rihanna created the foundation in 2012 in honor of her grandparents, Clara and Lionel Braithwaite. JB

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