University Hospital Zurich is experiencing a wave of solidarity. This has prompted the USZ Foundation to launch a Coronavirus Solidarity Fund. The foundation can moreover look back on a gratifying 2019 financial year, with donors making it possible to support 45 projects at USZ.
The coronavirus is pushing the healthcare system to its limits, also in Switzerland. The people at University Hospital Zurich (USZ) are putting in enormous efforts, from providing tests and intensive care to developing a coronavirus vaccine. In this extraordinary situation, University Hospital Zurich is experiencing a wave of solidarity, and donors are asking how they can support its endeavors. The USZ Foundation has now launched the USD Coronavirus Solidarity Fund as a vehicle for donations.
Other diseases are not on hold just because of the coronavirus crisis: all the more reason to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Last year the USZ Foundation was able to fund 45 projects at USZ thanks to donations from private individuals, foundations, family offices, and companies amounting to CHF 9.6 million. You can find out more in the 2019 annual report.
All the projects supported by the foundation are designed to directly improve the lives of patients at University Hospital Zurich and far beyond. For example, our donors have made it possible to develop even preciser methods for diagnosing tumors and new therapies for rare diseases.
For Thomas Wellauer, President of the Board of Foundation, philanthropic support for medical innovation is a meaningful and necessary complement to the government funding of research and development. “The USZ Foundation enables us to harness the innovative potential of our researchers at University Hospital Zurich even more effectively,” says Gregor Zünd, CEO and President of the Hospital Executive Board.
Saving lives and improving people’s quality of life: this is the aim of the USZ Foundation as it embarks on 2020. One current focus is the Coronavirus Solidarity Fund.