The Mitsui Global Volunteer Program (MGVP) is Mitsui & Co.’s own program to support organizations that have been working to resolve social problems. Through the MGVP Matching Gift initiative, Mitsui & Co. has been making donations in proportion to the number of our global employees who have taken part in volunteer activities. The company started making these donations in 2009, and by 2018 had provided a total of 33 million yen to nine organizations.

In 2019, the number of employees subject to the calculation of the MGVP Matching Gift totaled 3,916, and Mitsui & Co. donated 1,000 yen per each such employee, resulting in a total donation of 3,916,000 yen.

From March 2020 onwards, the number of employees subject to the Matching Gift calculation fell sharply due to the global spread of COVID-19. In 2020, the number of employees subject to the program was 800, and Mitsui & Co.’s donations totaled 800,000 yen that year. Likewise, in 2021, 1,037 employees with the company-wide matching donation total of 1,037,000 yen.

For the period 2019-2021, we have sent the Matching Gift donations to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to support countermeasures against the COVID-19 pandemic, which has negatively impacted countries throughout the world.

MSF has been making efforts in response to the spread of COVID-19 all over the world, including Europe, the Middle East, Asia (including Japan), North America, and Central and South America. MSF’s policy on responding to the spread of COVID-19 includes protecting vulnerable people, maintaining healthcare, protecting healthcare workers, protecting people most at risk, and on drugs, tests, or vaccines used for the COVID-19 pandemic.

We hope that these donations have given some support to medical practitioners who are providing care at the frontline of the pandemic, despite the infection risks to themselves, as well as for the people they are helping.