Mike Bloomberg Commits $10 Million to the International Rescue Committee for their COVID-19 Pandemic Response and Additional Work in Some of the World’s Most Vulnerable Communities
April 23, 2020
Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a $10 million contribution to support the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on vulnerable populations across the globe, and for additional work that will be needed to protect these peoples. The support comes at a time when the world is experiencing the greatest number of people fleeing violence and persecution since World War II. With many of these displaced millions already suffering from ill health and living in poverty, they are at extreme risk of contracting the coronavirus. COVID-19 is in the early stages of spreading to less developed and fragile countries, which means there is still time to mount a coordinated response that can ease suffering today and guard against dangerous secondary impacts tomorrow.
Read moreAmid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo and Mayor Mike Bloomberg Launch Nation-Leading COVID-19 Contact Tracing Program to Control Infection Rate
April 22, 2020
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Mike Bloomberg announced a new nation-leading COVID-19 contact tracing program to control the infection rate of the disease. Mike Bloomberg and Bloomberg Philanthropies have committed organizational support and technical assistance to help build and execute this new program. The contact tracing program will be done in coordination with the downstate region as well as New Jersey and Connecticut and will serve as an important resource to gather best practices and as a model that can be replicated across the nation. There has never been a contact tracing program implemented at this scale either in New York or anywhere in the United States. The program will launch immediately.
Read moreMayors from Partnership for Healthy Cities Network Convene During Launch of New Virtual Series to Help Inform Their COVID-19 Response
April 21, 2020
Executives and representatives from 24 cities around the world joined the inaugural Bloomberg Philanthropies Partnership for Healthy Cities COVID-19 webinar series for mayors. This virtual convening—the first in an ongoing series that is part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ COVID-19 Global Response Initiative—provided city leaders with guidance on how to implement best-practice COVID-19 interventions, such as physical distancing measures, in ways that are appropriate to each municipality and effective in gaining acceptance from the community, while minimizing social and economic impacts.
Read moreBloomberg Philanthropies Partners with Global Citizen to Support the One World: Together At Home initiative, Commits $8 Million to World Health Organization (WHO) Solidarity Response Fund
April 18, 2020
Bloomberg Philanthropies has partnered with Global Citizen to support the ‘One World: Together At Home’ initiative, including an $8 million contribution that will go directly to the World Health Organization COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. The funding will support providing healthcare workers across the globe with protective equipment like masks and gloves, and getting them the necessary information and training to detect and treat affected patients. The funding will also help with efforts to track and study the spread of the virus, accelerate the development of treatments, vaccines, and tests, and produce guidance on measures that the general public should take to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Read moreBill Gates Joins Mike Bloomberg to Address More Than 400 City Leaders at Fifth Virtual Convening to Support Local Coronavirus Response
April 17, 2020
Participants from more than 240 cities around the world, including mayors, local leaders, and members of response teams, joined Bloomberg Philanthropies’ fifth virtual COVID-19 Local Response Initiative convening on April 16, where Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg addressed the mayors on the challenges associated with the pandemic.
Read moreNYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund Issues $44 Million in Grants and Loans to New York City-Based Social Services and Arts Nonprofits
April 16, 2020
The NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund in the New York Community Trust announced that 276 New York City-based social services and arts and cultural nonprofits affected by the coronavirus public health crisis have received support to date. These mainly small and mid-size nonprofits are receiving grants and interest-free loans totaling $44 million, with additional funding being issued to more organizations over the coming weeks. The support – which currently ranges from $8,000 to $250,000 given per grant and from $100,000 to $3 million per loan – is to help these vital community organizations across New York’s five boroughs with the continuity of their daily operations and to help offset the lost revenue that has diminished their ability to pay rent, make payroll, and fulfill their public service missions.
Read morePartnership for Healthy Cities Launches Online Platform to Support City Leaders Responding to COVID-19
April 15, 2020
The Partnership for Healthy Cities (PHC) launched a new online platform for mayors, city officials and public health practitioners to support their efforts to address the COVID-19 crisis. The Partnership for Healthy Cities COVID-19 Response Center includes the latest tools and technical resources geared toward urban challenges, ranging from maintaining city services to legal guidance on implementing critical public health measures, for cities at every stage of the pandemic. The online platform was developed by the global health organization Vital Strategies, with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the World Health Organization. The PHC COVID-19 Response sits within the Bloomberg Philanthropies Coronavirus Global Response Initiative, in collaboration with leading global experts on epidemic prevention.
Read moreMike Bloomberg Supports World Central Kitchen to Provide as Many as 1 Million Meals for Healthcare Workers at 16 NYC Health + Hospitals Facilities on the Frontlines of the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 14, 2020
Bloomberg Philanthropies and World Central Kitchen announced a partnership to provide fresh daily meals for the 30,000 healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic at NYC Health + Hospitals’ 11 acute care hospitals and five post-acute long-term care facilities across the city’s five boroughs. Mike Bloomberg’s $6 million gift makes it possible for World Central Kitchen to begin food service operations tomorrow, April 15, at two locations, and go live across all NYC Health + Hospitals facilities by Monday, April 27.
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President Barack Obama Joins Mike Bloomberg to Address More Than 300 Cities at Fourth Virtual Convening to Support Local Coronavirus Response
April 9, 2020
Participants from more than 300 cities around the world, including mayors, local leaders, and members of response teams joined Bloomberg Philanthropies’ fourth virtual COVID-19 Local Response Initiative convening today, where President Barack Obama and Michael Bloomberg addressed the mayors on the challenges associated with the pandemic. Joined by Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD, the Vice Dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement for the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University and director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative, and Dr. Tom Frieden, president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives and former director of the Center for Disease Control, Mr. Bloomberg and President Obama highlighted the critical role mayors have in responding to the crisis and supporting vulnerable residents.
Read moreMike Bloomberg’s Statement on New York’s Major Step Forward in Combatting Youth E-Cigarette Use by Ending Sale of Flavored E-Cigarettes
April 3, 2020
“As we battle the coronavirus, we know that people with underlying health issues who smoke tobacco or use e-cigarettes may have an increased risk for serious complications. That makes the importance of prohibiting the sale of all flavored e-cigarettes even more urgent, and today we took a major step forward. New York has become the largest state to enact a ban, and I applaud Governor Cuomo and other state leaders for standing up to the tobacco industry and protecting millions of children and families. The youth e-cigarette epidemic is still with us, and getting these dangerous products off the market is even more essential than ever.”
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