Travel news around the world: At The End Of Your Uber Ride, You Can Donate To Fight HIV/AIDS

Wednesday, 16 November 2016

At The End Of Your Uber Ride, You Can Donate To Fight HIV/AIDS

Uber hopes to make a global impact with just the touch of a button.

For Tuesday's World AIDS Day, Uber teamed up with the international fundraising organization (RED) to support the Global Fund and help treat and prevent HIV. The partnership aims to “enable riders to help drive towards an AIDS Free Generation,” according to an Uber press release.

To participate in the campaign, Uber riders simply select the “(RED)” option and the signature car icons will then turn red to reflect this choice.

At the end of the trip, on top of the regular fare, users will be contacted via text message to confirm their $5 donation to the Global Fund. The group helps to combat AIDS by providing HIV testing, antiretroviral treatments and health care for orphans and HIV-positive pregnant women.

The app charges a 25-cent processing fee and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match every donation made within the Uber app on Dec. 1.

The small donation can actually have a major impact. A month's worth of medication for a mother with HIV/AIDS costs about $5, Uber wrote in the statement.

The initiative coincides this year with “Giving Tuesday” -- a global day of giving that follows Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

"Uber chose to once again team up with (RED) because we support their powerful goal to create the first AIDS free generation,"Amy Friedlander, Uber's head of business development and experiential marketing, said in a statement provided to The Huffington Post. "We admire the action and urgency they’ve brought to the issue, and we’re honored to use our global platform to be a part of the solution.”

Also on HuffPost:

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.