Rihanna Just Donated $5 Million USD To Coronavirus Relief Efforts

Contrary to popular belief, the coronavirus puts everyone (young or old, healthy or ill, rich or poor) at risk — just look at the number of celebrities who have shared that they’ve been diagnosed with the respiratory virus. Fortunately, there are active measures being taken to fight the spread of COVID-19, and Rihanna is using her platform and her coins to fund them.

The superstar is working with her nonprofit organization the Clara Lionel Foundation to distribute $5 million USD to various groups working on the ground to help communities battle the coronavirus. Rihanna, who founded the foundation in 2012 in honour of her late grandparents, mandated that the funds be given to support healthcare workers on the frontlines of the containment efforts as well as for safety efforts across the Caribbean, Africa, and in vulnerable areas of the United States; there, the money will be used to do accurate COVID-19 testing and provide effective care to patients diagnosed with the virus.

“When we first began this year, never could we have imagined how COVID-19 would so dramatically alter our lives,” the foundation shared in an official statement. “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, this pandemic will affect us all. And for the world’s most vulnerable, the worst may be yet to come.”

“That’s why Clara Lionel Foundation has provided $5 million USD to the following organizations to immediately mobilize a broad response working with on-the-ground partners that include Direct Relief, Feeding America, Partners in Health, The World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, the International Rescue Committee, and others,” the statement continued.

The incredible relief response come just days after word spread that Rihanna had made plans to donate over $700,000 USD worth of ventilator equipment for her home country of Barbados. Caribbean news outlet Kevz Politics (@KevzPolitics) broke the news on Friday, inspiring awe of the Bajan singer around the world.