Tencent Pledges Another RMB1 Billion to Set Up Anti-Epidemic Fund

2020.02.07

On February 7, 2020, Tencent announced the establishment of the "Comprehensive Security Fund for the Battle against Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia" (hereinafter referred to as "Anti-Epidemic Fund"). Following the launch of the RMB300 million Outbreak Response Fund and the RMB200 million Developer Support Alliance Fund, Tencent set up the Anti-Epidemic Fund by committing another RMB1 billion to support the battle against NCP. The Fund, which totals RMB1.5 billion, will be deployed in areas such as procurement of medical supplies, provision of technical support, reward for the people who contribute to the battle, assistance for the infected and their families, R&D of anti-NCP solutions, and improvement of medical facilities. 

RMB300 Million to alleviate shortage of medical supplies on the front line

On January 24, just a few days after the outbreak of the epidemic, Tencent provided RMB300 million to set up the Outbreak Response Fund to procure the medical supplies that were urgently needed by the front line of the battle against the virus.

By working with its partners across the world, Tencent has, as of February 7, procured 3.35 million masks, 125,100 protective suits, and large quantities of protective gloves/glasses, disinfectant, ventilators, ear thermometers, 75% ethanol, test kits and other necessary supplies to deliver to the front line.

RMB200 million to assist developers in providing technical support

On February 3, Tencent made its next move to set up the Developer Support Alliance Fund, with the aim of sharing its technology resources and R&D expertise to bring together ecosystem partners to contribute to the battle.

The fund pool allows qualified service providers and developers to gain resources and funds they need to develop the epidemic-related Mini Programs that serve governmental agencies, medical institutions and other organizations. Since its launch, more than 1000 development companies have applied for joining the effort, and many medical institutions and governmental agencies nationwide have requested for the development of epidemic-related Mini Programs.

RMB300 million to honor the people dedicated to the front-line battle

Tencent will devote RMB300 million from the RMB1 billion it just pledged to the people who are racing against the time to fight against the epidemic, including the medical professionals who are saving people’s life in Hubei and other affected regions, the people who has been performing their duty during the epidemic such as police, sanitation workers, temporary hospital construction workers, civil affairs workers, and journalists, as well as the front-line volunteers from various institutions and social organizations who go all out to engage in the battle.

RMB200 million to help the infected and their families

This epidemic has put many families in a financial hardship as a result of the huge expenditure on treatment and the death of main breadwinners. With the concern for the infected and their families, Tencent decided to allocate RMB200 million from the Anti-Epidemic Fund to help them go through the crisis.

RMB500 million reserved for anti-epidemic R&D and popularization of medical scientific knowledge

The remaining RMB500 million will be put into the above programs as the anti-epidemic battle progresses, or used for the scientific research on epidemic prevention, improvement of medical and health care facilities in the future, and popularization of authoritative medical scientific knowledge.

Tencent has donated RMB15 million to the Tsinghua University Education Foundation, of which RMB5 million is dedicated to the R&D of vaccine against NCP infection, and RMB10 million is used for supporting more pressing development of NCP treatment solutions by the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute (GHDDI). In the days to come, Tencent will finance the research effort of more institutions on epidemic prevention on an ongoing basis.

Meanwhile, the company will, by leveraging its products, build platforms that facilitate the popularization of authoritative medical scientific knowledge, and input more in the construction and improvement of medical and healthcare facilities.

"With NCP plaguing China and other countries across the globe, numerous front-line contributors commit themselves to the battle to help and save those who are suffering from the disease and protect more people from infection. The extraordinary effort made by the seemingly ordinary people are empowering us to do our part in the battle, giving us the confidence to win the battle," said Leon Guo, Senior Vice President of Tencent and Chairman of the Tencent Charity Foundation.

Tencent’s move to set up the Anti-Epidemic Fund aims to pay tribute to the people who devote themselves to the battle at the risk of being infected and inspire more people to take actions against the virus. Meanwhile it paves the way for the R&D on the NCP prevention and treatment, for the optimization of medical and healthcare facilities and for the popularization of authoritative medical scientific knowledge, thus making people more health-conscious, more informed on medical knowledge, and more geared up for any public health emergency.