The IKEA Foundation has announced a €3 million ($3.65 million) commitment to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in support of COVID-19 relief efforts in India.

The commitment will enable MSF to continue to provide and scale primary health care in the country and to distribute medical relief items in response to urgent health needs there.

"The second wave of COVID-19 in India has been devastating, with a catastrophic rise in the numbers of new infections in recent weeks," said MSF Switzerland general director Stephen Cornish. "MSF has mobilized staff — including doctors, nurses, anesthesia technicians, and psychologists — and is in the process of recruiting and sending additional teams with COVID-19 experience to provide care for people who are affected, including those who require hospitalization and oxygen therapy. One of the ways MSF teams are responding is by caring for patients in two units within a large, two thousand-bed field hospital operated in collaboration with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. We want to thank the IKEA Foundation for this new unrestricted donation for our projects in India, which allows us to keep offering medical humanitarian care for the most vulnerable people, as well as to ensure the protection of frontline healthcare workers."

"In India, where the IKEA Foundation has its roots, we see the horrific impact and the tragedy of the pandemic unfolding every single day," said IKEA Foundation CEO Per Heggenes. "We stand with the people of India and have pledged immediate support so that they can emerge from this crisis. We all need to come together and do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19 and support ongoing life-saving medical activities in India. Today, I call on the world's governments, businesses, and philanthropies to join us and increase the relief support for the people of India."