COMMITMENT| 17.07.2021
In Costa Rica, Fundación MAPFRE is focusing its Covid assistance efforts on improving care for 2,000 senior citizens
The company just donated almost €21,000 to purchase personal care and health care supplies for 74 retirement homes in the country. Fundación MAPFRE has increased its extraordinary budget for Latin America to €10 million this year, to help combat poverty and social exclusion.
Fundación MAPFRE has approved an extraordinary budget for 2021 to address the emergency situation and socioeconomic crisis Costa Rica is experiencing as a result of COVID‑19.
That assistance is part of a total provision of €10 million for Latin America. Your Foundation / Fundación MAPFRE will use those funds to undertake a total of 71 projects, which are expected to provide assistance to more than 500,000 people.
In Costa Rica, the foundation’s actions are taking place through the National Council for Senior Citizens (CONAPAM), and they are focused on purchasing personal care and health care materials for 74 retirement homes. It is estimated that the actions will benefit more than 1,930 senior citizens.
In addition to acquiring health care supplies, this year’s assistance program for the region includes other fundamental actions to address the consequences of the pandemic. These include measures focused on social inclusion and assistance for vulnerable persons; promoting education and reducing the digital divide; supporting employment, job training, and entrepreneurship for women; and combating malnutrition for children and other persons in situations of special need.
Antonio Huertas: “No one can stand in the way of solidarity”
“We hope things will change and for the better. No pandemic is going to stop us from keeping our commitment to social progress,” says Antonio Huertas, President of Fundación MAPFRE. He has described the foundation’s extraordinary provision of €45 million over a two‑year period as a “plan aimed at saving as many lives as possible and protecting the most vulnerable in society and those fighting coronavirus on the front line.” He explains that the foundation, which in 2020 encountered “the greatest challenge” in its 45‑year history, is also supporting research and helping to prevent an increase in poverty and inequality caused by the social consequences of the virus. This is all with the help of its volunteers, who will once again provide their support in this endeavor. “When it comes to solidarity, once the ball gets rolling, there is no stopping it,” he says.