Selena Gomez and Jennifer Lopez Team Up for Billion Dollar Vaccine Fundraiser

Jennifer Lopez, Selena Gomez, and several of their talented friends are joining forces with Global Citizen to stage an upcoming televised concert to raise funds for global COVID-19 vaccinations. The program, which will air on Saturday, May 8, hopes to raise $22 billion from individuals and companies alike to help frontline workers and civilians secure coronavirus vaccinations. Gomez will host "Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World," while Lopez will take the stage alongside other performers like Foo Fighters, Eddie Vedder, J Balvin, and H.E.R.

The performance will take place at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles but will be broadcasting live on ABC, CBS, and FOX, as well as streaming on iHeart Media and Youtube.

The organization's CEO Hugh Evans spoke to the Associated Press about the severity of the event's mission, explaining that at least 60 countries have yet to receive COVID-19 vaccine doses. "There are 27 million healthcare workers globally who don´t have access to the vaccine," Evans told the outlet. "I'm 38 years old, and it's not ethical for me to have access to the vaccine before these heroic first responders and community health workers. So we need governments to start urgently donating those doses."

Global Citizen is known for holding an annual benefit concert in September on the Great Lawn of New York City's Central Park to encourage world leaders and companies to uphold the United Nation's Global Goals for Sustainable Development and help end widespread poverty. Past headliners have included Beyoncé, Jay-Z, The Weeknd, Cardi B, and more.

“We can’t get back to ending extreme poverty while 150 million people have been pushed back into extreme poverty this year due to the pandemic,” said Evens. “Everything else is academic until we can get it under control.”