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COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program

The Impact of COVID-19

As COVID-19 advances, its devastating effects become ever-more pronounced. The public health crisis is aggravated by the social and economic aftermath: job losses, school closures, increased poverty. These effects are largely borne by vulnerable populations globally, including in Africa and among Indigenous communities in Canada. Unchecked, the pandemic could erode hard-earned development gains and threaten social stability. 

Fortifying Institutions and Communities

As a trusted partner, Mastercard Foundation is standing with our partners, including – governments, the private sector, educational institutions, community organizations, and young people – to overcome this global challenge. We are also open to new partnerships to address the urgent needs in this crisis.

The Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program will assist institutions and communities in Africa and within Indigenous communities in Canada to withstand and respond to the short-term impacts of this pandemic, while strengthening their resilience in the long-run. Doing so, will enable them to stay united and to be at the forefront of reigniting their economies.

The Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program will enable us to scale up rather than scale back our support to young people and communities. Together, with our partners and others, we will continue to work towards seeing young people, especially young women, access quality education, skills, financial services, and dignified work.

A Message from our President and CEO, Reeta Roy

This is an excerpt from a longer statement shared on April 9, 2020.

This program has two fundamental aims. First, to address immediate needs such as:

  • Support for health workers and first responders.
  • Providing emergency funds for students.

We will do this as a matter of priority.

Second, we will double down on initiatives whose impact will span both the present and the future and enable economic recovery. Specifically, we will work to:

  • Expand access to financial services for micro, small, and medium enterprises, which will enable businesses to withstand the economic effects of COVID-19, explore options for digitizing their businesses, and potentially contribute to public health response through the production and distribution of critically-needed health care products and equipment.
  • Enable e-learning to assist young people whose education was disrupted by the pandemic. We will work with educational organizations to help them transition to digital delivery of courses, mentoring, and student outreach. This will not only prepare learning institutions for future crises but also for the future of education.
  • Support the adoption of digital solutions to address real needs of populations such as financial services; food production and delivery; housing and construction; transportation and logistics; as well as tools for everything from public health to supply chain management. We know that economies with widespread access to digital platforms and marketplaces have fared better than those without this level of connectivity.

By supporting these initiatives, we will be deepening the capacity of diverse institutions to weather and respond to this crisis, while building their resilience. The goal is to help ensure that on the other side of this challenge, communities rise up stronger and institutions emerge ready to lead and support the important work of reigniting economies.

Questions and Answers

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