IKEA Foundation gives €5 million emergency grant to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to help fight Ebola

LEIDEN, The Netherlands, Sept. 29, 2014 /CNW/ - The IKEA Foundation has given €5 million, its largest single emergency donation ever—to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to fight the worst Ebola virus outbreak in history.

MSF has been responding to the outbreak since March and currently has 2,000 staff working in West Africa, treating a rapidly increasing number of patients. As the world struggles to contain and beat the outbreak, organisations like MSF need help from the private sector to keep funding their programmes as needed. The IKEA Foundation's donation will support the organisation's medical relief efforts for those stricken with Ebola for the rest of this year and into 2015.

Per Heggenes, CEO of the IKEA Foundation, said: "Our wish is that other private-sector partners will step up and fund programmes that will not only save lives and fight the spread of Ebola but also help in other emergency situations that get less media coverage. This crisis, like others, will not go away quickly—and for those who have lost loved ones, the pain will last forever. That's why organisations like MSF need long-term support from partners like the IKEA Foundation."

Bruno Jochum, Executive Director of MSF Switzerland, added on behalf of the MSF movement "We are extremely grateful to the IKEA Foundation for this very significant contribution, which will help our teams make a real difference on the ground. The IKEA Foundation is a longstanding and privileged partner of MSF and we are thrilled to count once again on its support at a critical time in the fight against Ebola and its consequences."

The IKEA Foundation has previously supported MSF's work providing medical treatment to refugees from Syria and the Central African Republic.

About IKEA Foundation
The IKEA Foundation aims to improve opportunities for children and youth in the world's poorest communities by funding holistic, long-term programmes that can create substantial, lasting change. The Foundation works with strong strategic partners applying innovative approaches to achieve large-scale results in four fundamental areas of a child's life: a place to call home; a healthy start in life; a quality education; and sustainable family income. Currently-funded programmes benefit an estimated 100 million children. Learn more at www.IKEAfoundation.org, or find out about how we respond to emergencies here.

About Médecins Sans Frontières
MSF is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, exclusion from health care and natural disasters. MSF offers assistance to people based on need and irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation. In West Africa, the organisation operates five Ebola management centres providing a total of 502 hospital beds in isolation. More than 435 tonnes of supplies have been shipped to the affected countries since March. Learn more at www.msf.org

SOURCE: IKEA Canada