Swiss Re donates CHF 5 million to support COVID-19 relief efforts

Swiss Re Group pledged to donate CHF 5 million to support the needs of people and communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic around the world. Through its non-profit grant foundation, the Swiss Re Foundation, the funds will be distributed to organisations tackling the crisis, particularly in developing countries.

The Swiss Re Foundation will contribute CHF 1 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is providing humanitarian aid in the world's most vulnerable regions. It will also grant CHF 1 million to Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), which is assisting local health institutions around the globe in providing patient support and training for medical staff. The remaining CHF 3 million will be allocated to other Swiss Re Foundation partners for relief efforts in response to the pandemic.

Christian Mumenthaler, Swiss Re Group Chief Executive Officer and Trustee of the Swiss Re Foundation, said: “The rapid spread of COVID-19 affects all of us and shows how vulnerable we are as a society. As health systems are struggling in their response to the crisis, our contribution is meant to support those who are fighting on the front lines. The Swiss Re Foundation has well established ties to relief organisations that operate on both a global and a local level, so we are confident the funds will quickly help to provide support where it is needed the most.“

Swiss Re is inviting its employees to make donations through the Swiss Re Foundation to Médecins Sans Frontières. The Group will match these donations. Swiss Re is also making funds available to support community engagement projects in its locations around the world.

The Swiss Re Foundation reflects Swiss Re’s social and humanitarian values. Its vision is to help societies build capacity to mitigate health, environmental and economic risks as well as to recover quickly from setbacks. It aims to achieve measurable and sustainable impacts by providing its partners not only with evidence-based grant funding, but also by giving them access to the broad expertise of Swiss Re’s employees to learn, prototype and scale effective solutions.