The UN and the World Health Organisation are to launch a fund allowing individuals and corporations to donate to combat the spread of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. In a statement, the UN Foundation and the WHO said the Solidarity Response Fund would raise money from a wide variety of donors to support the international response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The fund enables individuals, businesses and institutions anywhere in the world to come together to directly contribute to global response efforts, and has been created by the United Nations Foundation and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, with the WHO. "We are at a critical point in the global response to Covid-19 – we need everyone to get involved in this massive effort to keep the world safe," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director General. “We are immensely grateful to the UN Foundation and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation for coming forward to help us set up this fund. A lot of people and institutions have been saying they want to contribute to the fight against the novel coronavirus. Now they can.” The fund is being launched with significant support already lined up. Facebook and Google have set up a matching scheme for funds raised through their platforms, while individual donors are also supporting the fund through. “We can’t ignore the fact that this is a truly global problem – one that requires truly global solutions,” said Elizabeth Cousens, UN Foundation President and CEO. “The case for global cooperation could not be clearer – communities everywhere are affected, and people want to contribute. This new fund will create space for people everywhere, together, to fight this virus.”