Tencent Holdings Limited , announced to deepen collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) via a US$10 million donation to WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, and an agreement to open source our digital health solutions to assist the global fight against the pandemic.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and Tencent President Martin Lau made the announcement via video conference.
“I warmly thank Tencent for its generous contribution to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. I look forward to the collaboration with Tencent on promoting the use of digital health tools in the fight against COVID-19 and for a healthier, safer, fairer world,” said Dr. Tedros.
“The world is facing unprecedented challenges and needs to come together with great solidarity. WHO is leading and coordinating the global efforts, supporting countries to combat the pandemic. Tencent believes that global solidarity will help all of us fight the spread of COVID-19, and we will open source our digital health solutions in addition to making a donation to achieve this shared mission,” said Martin Lau, President of Tencent.
Announced last month by WHO, the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund will help all countries, particularly those most vulnerable, at-risk, and with the weakest health systems, to prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 crisis by rapidly detecting cases, stopping transmission of the virus, and caring for those affected.
The US$10 million contribution from Tencent is part of its US$100 million Global Anti-Pandemic Fund, which was established in March to support international efforts to combat COVID-19. It has already helped supply urgent medical gear, such as masks, personal protective equipment, and ventilators, to hospitals and front-line healthcare workers around the world.
In addition to the donation, Tencent will also provide technology support to combat the pandemic. Tencent Health is open sourcing the international module in its COVID 19 WeChat Mini Program, making critical information on the pandemic freely available worldwide. The COVID-19 Symptoms Self-Triage Assistant, a self-evaluation tool backed by AI technology, is also now available to people around the world.
About Tencent
Tencent uses technology to enrich the lives of Internet users. Our communication and social platforms, Weixin and QQ, connect users with each other and with digital content and services, both online and offline, making their lives more convenient. Our targeted advertising platform helps advertisers reach out to hundreds of millions of consumers in China. Our FinTech and business services support our partners’ business growth and assist their digital upgrade.
Tencent invests heavily in talent and technological innovation, actively promoting the development of the Internet industry. Tencent was founded in Shenzhen, China, in 1998. Shares of Tencent (00700.HK) are listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.