Prince Harry and Meghan Markle today celebrated their third wedding anniversary by revealing plans to build a disaster relief centre in India to help battle Covid-19 and recover from the pandemic.
The building in Mumbai, will be based on the blueprint of one the couple’s Archewell foundation has built on the Caribbean island of Dominica, where locals can get free food and medical care including Covid-19 vaccination.
Announcing the plans on their official website, the Sussexes, who married at Windsor Castle three years ago today, promised the proposed centre would ‘provide relief and resilience as well as healing and strength’ for those who use it.
It came as the couple demanded the equal distribution of coronavirus vaccines around the world and backed Joe Biden‘s calls for big phrama companies to waive vaccine patents for poorer countries.
Announcing the new relief centre, the couple said: ‘Right now, COVID-19 cases are spiking across the entire country of India. On Tuesday, India’s total virus cases exceeded 25 million, with 260,000 new cases and 4,329 deaths reported in the past 24 hours. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, millions have been infected, and there is widespread concern that the crisis is even worse than reported.
‘Archewell Foundation and World Central Kitchen will establish our latest community relief center in Mumbai, India, which is also home to Myna Mahila, an Indian organization focused on women’s health and employment opportunities that The Duchess of Sussex has long supported’.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle today celebrated their third wedding anniversary by revealing plans to build a disaster relief centre in India
The couple’s Archewell Foundation, working with charity World Central Kitchen, have already built a similar centre in Dominica, in the Caribbean
The Mumbai site will be equipped with a kitchen like this one installed in Dominica, to help feed the poor, unwell and destitute
Ten days ago the Duchess of Sussex made her first television appearance since the bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview to urge that women are prioritised in pandemic recovery plans.
Wearing what appeared to be a Cartier watch once owned by Princess Diana and a ‘woman’s power’ necklace charm – combining the Venus symbol and a fist – she was speaking in pre-recorded clip for a celebrity charity concert.
Her speech was seen by millions of US viewers on Saturday night watching the Global Citizen Vax Live broadcast.
Prince Harry had appeared in person at Los Angeles’ Lo-Fi stadium, addressing a large crowd to rapturous applause.
Meghan, who is soon due to give birth to the couple’s second child, is thought to have pulled out at the last minute and instead recorded her message.
Sitting in what is believed to be the garden of the £11million California mansion where she and Harry live, Meghan described how ‘women, and especially women of colour, have seen a generation of economic gain wiped out’ in the fallout from Covid-19.
She said: ‘As campaign chairs of Vax Live, my husband and I believe it’s critical that our recovery prioritises the health, safety and success of everyone – and particularly women, who have been disproportionately affected by this pandemic.
‘Since the pandemic began, nearly 5.5 million women have lost work in the US, and 47 million more women around the world are expected to slip into extreme poverty.
‘My husband and I are thrilled to soon be welcoming a daughter.
‘It’s a feeling of joy we share with millions of other families around the world. When we think of her, we think of all the young women and girls around the globe who must be given the ability and the support to lead us forward.’
Pregnant Meghan Markle has made an appearance during the Vax Live telecast, claiming COVID has wiped out a generation of progress for women of color
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have already urged supporters to make a donation to a vaccine equity campaign to mark their son Archie’s second birthday earlier this month
Field hospitals have been set up in Mumbai, where Covid cases are out of control
The duchess opted for a £1,200 Carolina Herrera dress emblazoned with poppies as well as the £17,000 Cartier thought to have been previously owned by her husband’s late mother and presented to her as a gift.
She has previously been photographed wearing the same watch,
She was also wearing what is believed to be a £5,000 Cartier bracelet.
The Duke and Duchess were chairs of Vax Live, organised by campaign group Global Citizen which aims to encourage the equal distribution of coronavirus vaccines around the world.
The show featured live speakers and performances from Jennifer Lopez and other stars.
It was the first time Meghan has appeared on television since March, when she and Harry sat down for an interview with Oprah Winfrey during which she alleged a member of the Royal Family made a racist comment.
Earlier this week, the Sussexes penned an open letter to five of the world’s leading Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers, urging them to share vaccines with the world’s poorest countries.
They called on all firms to temporarily suspend intellectual property rights applied to Covid vaccines, and for a ‘global public-private collaboration’ so production methods for the jabs can be shared.
As part of his speech, Harry said the vaccine ‘must be distributed to everyone, everywhere.
He added: ‘We cannot rest or truly recover until there is fair distribution to every corner of the world.
‘The mission in front of us is one we cannot afford to fail out and that’s what tonight is about.
‘The virus does not respect borders and access to the vaccine cannot be determined by geography. It must be accepted as a basic right for all and that is our starting point.’