Representatives from the global travel and tourism industry have united to support MassiveGood, a global health initiative created by the Millennium Foundation for Innovative Finance for Health.
“We pledge, by supporting this initiative, to encourage our industry to help raise funds to treat the sick in the poorest of our world’s countries,” announced the coalition to the UN General Assembly last week.
The project will give travellers the option to donate a micro-contribution to the initiative when they purchase travel services. The money will be used for causes such as fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in developing countries. Early modelling suggests this could boost funding for these health initiatives by $1 billion in the first four years.
President and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council Jean-Claude Baumgarten stated: “As the leaders of an industry that is central to the global economy, generating almost one out of every ten dollars spent in the world and employing 220 million workers, we recognise this responsibility.”
MassiveGood will be launched early 2010.
