Inditex announced recently that it is contributing EUR1 (USD1.2 million) to the emergency fund of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to help in the fight of the deadly Ebola virus in western Africa.
Inditex CEO Pablo Isla and MSF Managing Director in Spain Joan Tubau signed the agreement recently at Inditex’s head offices in Arteixo (A Coruña).
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been over 9,900 cases reported as of end of October, claiming the lives of more than 4,800 people. MSF has more than 3,200 professionals on the ground to battle the epidemic.
Inditex has also today pledged EUR2.1 million (USD2.6 million) to MSF in support of four ongoing medical-humanitarian projects led by the aid organization in India (EUR1 million) (USD1.2 million) and Turkey (EUR500,000) (USD623,083.42) and the organization’s Emergency Relief Unit (EUR600,000) (USD747,703.42).
Since 2008, Inditex has contributed over EUR14 million (USD17.4 million) to MSF’s work in 26 countries and 19 emergency situations, bringing relief to more than 1.3 million people.
Inditex has also renewed its support for MSF’s Emergency Relief Unit, which it began supporting back in 2011, pledging a further EUR600,000 under a bi-annual programme. The emergency unit enables MSF to move people and materials anywhere in the world in under 48 hours to respond to humanitarian crises triggered by conflicts, natural disasters or epidemics.