London: Radhika Batra, a Delhi-based doctor engaged in manufacturing personal protection equipment (PPE) to help in the fight against the coronavirus (Covid-19) disease in India, Kenya and Nigeria, is one of the five recipients of funding by a global forum of young leaders called One Young World.
Partnering with the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and United Way, a non-profit organisation (NPO), to launch the Covid-19 Young Leaders Fund, the organisers said Friday that the fund is supported by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Actor Emma Watson, among others.
Batra founded Every Infant Matters, an NPO, which in response to the pandemic is leveraging its network of partners to provide resources to at-risk people in India and Kenya, with plans to expand operations to Nigeria, the fund organisers said.
In India, the organisation provides protective materials (such as hand sanitisers, face shields, gloves and N-95 masks) to frontline personnel, including doctors, nurses and hospital workers such as housekeeping and sanitation staff, ambulance drivers, and security guards.
Each project is allocated between £5,000 and £10,000, the allocation being dependent on what is enough to ensure they are able to carry out their services, the organisers said, adding that the fund currently stands at a cumulative of £175,000.
{{/usCountry}}Each project is allocated between £5,000 and £10,000, the allocation being dependent on what is enough to ensure they are able to carry out their services, the organisers said, adding that the fund currently stands at a cumulative of £175,000.
{{/usCountry}}The other recipients of the funding are Rinesh Sharma (Fiji), Heidy Quah (Malaysia), Achaleke Christian (Cameroon) and Jolyon Layard Horsfall (UK).
Ella Robertson of One Young World said: “Young leaders are part of the most connected, informed and resourceful generation in human history… We now need to ensure they have the funds needed to tackle some of the largest issues created by Covid-19”.
The fund organisers said that statistics based on figures collected from 1,000 young leaders globally show that 72% of the respondents have volunteered some of their time to help during this pandemic. The survey was done by the organisers of the fund.
The fund has been established to provide the immediate distribution of finance to young leaders on the frontlines of the response to Covid–19, with donations distributed across countries and sectors.
Jayathma Wickramanayake, a United Nations special envoy for youth, added: “The Covid-19 Young Leaders Fund is exactly the bold action that is required to champion young people who are so bravely combating the coronavirus disease on the frontlines”.