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Our response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global health crisis, and we are responding in several ways.

Helping families afford a better life

Families living in poverty around the world face tremendous challenges. With millions of people looking to join the workforce, many find it difficult to find a job and earn a sustainable income.

Protecting the planet

Temperatures are rising, causing changes in our climate that threaten every aspect of our lives—from the food we eat to the water we drink to the air we breathe.

Stories

How our partners are responding in Beirut

Our partners Médecins San Frontières (MSF), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Save the Children and the Red Cross are among the organisations responding to last...

4 mins August 11, 2020

Weaving a sustainable future

The clothing industry has been hit hard by COVID-19. Consumer demand for clothing has gone down, leading to enormous amounts of overstock and big brands cancelling orders. This has caused...

3 mins August 11, 2020

Ask an Expert with Jacqueline Novogratz

What does it mean to listen to people whose voices have traditionally been ignored? How can leaders become better listeners? What is the importance of inclusion and representation, specifically in...

1 min August 5, 2020

Young entrepreneurs in Bangladesh go digital to cope with COVID-19

On World Youth Skills Day (15 July), as young entrepreneurs face unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19, we’d like to thank our partners who are helping them develop new skills to...

3 mins July 15, 2020

Finance and corporates: Let’s talk climate

As urgent climate deadlines set by the Paris Agreement in 2015 draw closer, many companies remain reluctant to change their business models to reduce emissions. At the same time, it...

2 mins July 13, 2020

How our partners are reaching the most remote communities during COVID-19

The IKEA Foundation has donated €1.5 million to our partner Start Network to support their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. This donation comes from the €10 million fund we have committed...

4 mins July 9, 2020

Ask an Expert with Sofia Kouvelaki

Hear the story of how a dedicated group of people in Greece became HOME for child refugees. Our COO Stelios Kyriakakis talked with The Home Project CEO Sofia Kouvelaki and...

1 min July 2, 2020

Ask an Expert with Alexander Betts and Ola Rosling

What (almost) everybody gets wrong about refugees: That’s the topic our CEO Per Heggenes talked about with Alexander Betts, Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs at the University of...

1 min June 25, 2020

Renewable energy access boosts rural jobs in Africa

Our new partnership with the Carbon Trust will use renewable energy to create sustainable jobs, reduce poverty and empower women in rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa. The IKEA Foundation has...

2 mins June 25, 2020

Our response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global health crisis, and we are responding in several ways. At the IKEA Foundation, we believe that everyone’s number one priority should be to look after their family and loved ones, and to stay home wherever possible to stop the virus from spreading. With this in mind, we are talking to our partners about the best ways to progress on the programmes we are funding and how we can help them during this crisis.

Some of our programmes are already working to help people affected by COVID-19, and we are committing up to €10 million to help fund their incredible, life-saving work. We are also talking to our partners about how the pandemic may affect their long-term programmes to protect the planet from climate change and to help families afford a better everyday life. We believe that these programmes are more important than ever before. We know that many of our partners and the communities they serve are facing extraordinary difficulties, and we are committed to supporting them in finding extraordinary solutions.