Idris and Sabrina Elba launch appeal for IFAD's $200 million coronavirus relief fund for rural communities

News provided by

International Fund for Agricultural Development

Apr 20, 2020, 02:00 ET

ROME, April 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Actor, filmmaker and humanitarian Idris Elba and model and activist Sabrina Dhowre Elba today launched a new global coronavirus relief fund on behalf of the United Nations' International Fund for Agricultural Development to prevent economic shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic from triggering a global hunger and food crisis.

British actor Idris Elba (L) and his wife, actress and model, Sabrina Dhowre Elba (M), both IFAD Goodwill Ambassadors for the UN rural poverty agency IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) speak with a rural farmer named Clement Kanu (R) on how he was able to rebound economically and support his family through agriculture after the economic and food crisis caused by Ebola during their recent visit in western rural Sierra Leone on 19 December 2019. (Photo by Rodney Quarcoo / IFAD)

With US$40 million in funding from IFAD, the multi-donor COVID-19 Rural Poor Stimulus Facility aims to raise an additional $200 million from governments, foundations and the private sector to help farmers and lessen the impact of COVID-19 on rural communities. It is hoped that these measures will help avert a larger hunger crisis – one that would have particularly harsh effects on vulnerable people in developing countries.

The Elbas, appointed today as UN Goodwill Ambassadors for IFAD, visited IFAD-supported projects in rural Sierra Leone in December. During their visit, they heard from rural communities who had received support from IFAD during the Ebola epidemic. At that time, IFAD-supported banks helped the rural economy rebound so that farmers could access finance and continue to feed their families and communities.

Speaking about their trip, Sabrina Dhowre Elba said:

"This crisis has shown us we are only as safe as our most vulnerable people. It is in all our interests to keep local food systems going, protect rural communities and mitigate a health crisis as people who lose their jobs in the city head back to rural areas. The IFAD-run projects we saw in Sierra Leone give us hope that, with the right assistance, vulnerable rural people worldwide will be able to get through this difficult time."

Idris Elba said:

"The world's advanced economies are in the midst of this pandemic right now and, of course, they must do everything they can to help their own people. Every death is one death too many at a time like this. But the fact is, global action is also a matter of self-interest. As long as the pandemic is still raging anywhere, it will pose a threat everywhere. IFAD needs more assistance to carry on the work that is desperately needed to keep food systems operating in rural areas if we are to come out of this crisis together and avoid needless hunger and suffering."

Notes to Editors

Photos here. Credit ©IFAD/Rodney Quarcoo.
B-roll video footage here.

Contacts: Simona Siad
+39-3601024288
[email protected]

SOURCE International Fund for Agricultural Development