Greta Thunberg donates $100,000 to help fight coronavirus

30 April 2020, 13:55

Greta Thunberg will be donating $100,000 to help tackle coronavirus
Greta Thunberg will be donating $100,000 to help tackle coronavirus. Picture: PA

By Kate Buck

Greta Thunberg has donated $100,000 of prize money to UNICEF to help with the fight against coronavirus.

The environmental activist, 17, was awarded the money for her work by Danish foundation Human Act, which is also making a $100,000 to the same cause.

The United Nations children's fund confirmed the donations were being made, and said the money will be used to buy soap, gloves, masks and other PPE for children around the globe.

Miss Thuberg said the ongoing pandemic is "a child's rights crisis, like the climate crisis" while praising UNICEF's "vital work to save children's lives".

In a video statement, she added: "It is always the poorest and most vulnerable people who will suffer the most from a crisis whether it is the climate crisis or the corona crisis and even though children may not seem to be the primary target group for the corona crisis, children’s lives are still at risk...

"We must now all act together to protect the children and end the devastating consequences of the coronavirus. Children are the future and they must be protected."

UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore praised Miss Thunberg and added: “The coronavirus pandemic is the greatest struggle the world has seen in generations.

“Children and young people are among the most severely impacted by the knock-on effects of Covid-19, so it is only natural that they would want to do something about it."

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