Lady Gaga’s coronavirus relief concert, “One World: Together at Home,” raised $127 million to provide the world’s poorest countries with personal protective equipment (PPE) and other essential supplies to fight the spread of COVID-19.

Performance for A Greater Good

In partnership with the World Health Organization and the United Nations, the organization Global Citizen released performances from artists including Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Alicia Keys and many more. The concert aimed to raise awareness of countries that could not afford the proper equipment needed for essential workers.

Global Citizen says that Lady Gaga’s coronavirus relief concert aimed to “celebrate and support healthcare workers and others on the frontlines, and the World Health Organization (WHO) as they lead the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.” Around the world, poor countries disproportionately feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic — more so than countries like the U.S.

What Did “One World: Together at Home” Accomplish?

Lady Gaga’s coronavirus relief concert raised support and awareness for the COVID-19 crisis all around the world due to the high-profile guests and musicians featured in the program.

As a result of the large-scale, global support, Global Citizen raised $127 million for PPE and other supplies to provide to people around the world. Specifically, they were able to supply “[more than] 700,000 surgical masks, 51,000 N95 masks, 727,000 gloves, 85,000 gowns, nearly 14,000 goggles, and [more than] 20,000 face shields.” Funds went to 120 countries, including 39 countries in Africa, 20 in the eastern Mediterranean region and 29 in the Americas.

Global Citizen is an organization that aims to end extreme poverty by 2030. The organization’s methods include posting, tweeting, messaging, signing, calling and voting on issues that are pertinent to extreme poverty around the world.

COVID-19 & Global Poverty

But what does COVID-19 have to do with global poverty? Overall, productivity growth, a large contributing factor for lifting people out of poverty, is at a low due to the virus. From past illnesses and financial depressions, some speculate that this low rate of productivity growth will decrease further, the longer the pandemic lasts.

Without financial stability and the necessary protective equipment for essential workers, it is clear that those in poverty will suffer greatly as a result of the pandemic. Without access to important protections, those in poverty will continue to go on with life as they had before. Unfortunately, these activities come with an increased risk of illness as well.

Areas in which there is extreme poverty are often overcrowded. This, in turn, leads to more exposure to the coronavirus when no protections like masks or face shields are present. Additionally, the hospital space quickly becomes overwhelmed with rising numbers of cases. If patients do not receive proper care and if necessary protections are not used, cases will likely continue to rise.

Hospitals in impoverished areas are frequently unlikely to have the capacity to afford PPE and  other vital supplies. Patients will not be able to afford care, nor will the hospitals be able to supply the proper care needed in these situations. All of these factors combined, lead to more deaths as a result of COVID-19. For these reasons, any activities like Lady Gaga’s (and other artists’) performance that promote the global use of PPE and provide critical funding toward purchasing these supplies are beneficial.

– Natalie Belford
Photo: Wikimedia Commons