Watford forward Danny Welbeck has donated a £10,000 relief package to the residents of his mother's home town in Ghana as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the global economy.
The relief package distributed to residents of Nkawiepanin in the Atwima Nwabiagya municipality of the west African nation includes food, sanitary items and sanitizers.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) was also donated to the doctors and nurses in Nkawie Government Hospital in the Ashanti region.
As of Sunday, Ghana has recorded 566 cases of Covid-19 - the most in West Africa - while the government has extended its partial lockdown in some major cities by a week.
The donation was made in person by Welbeck's aunt, Charlotte Adwoa Tumutuom, who spoke of the 29-year-old's love for Ghana.
“Danny has been very concerned about how his people would survive these trying times,” Tumutuom told Ghanaian news website Pulse. “Though he has never lived here, he has a great affection for the people of Ghana, so he felt it prudent to offer some help in the very small way that he can to support the government’s efforts in these times.”
The England international who was born to Ghanaian parents in London, and last visited the West African country in 2017 to see his extended family and a school he funded in the Ashanti region.
Welbeck was eligible to play for the Black Stars before he made his England debut in a friendly fixture against Ghana at Wembley in 2011.
The former Manchester United and Arsenal forward has played 42 games for the Three Lions, scoring 16 goals.
He is the latest Premier League footballer to make donations in order to fight coronavirus, despite players having previously been criticised for a perceived lack of effort amid the pandemic which has killed more than 10,000 people in Britain and has shut down football in the country indefinitely.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has put together the Players Together campaign which will be generating important funds to support the NHS.
"Over the course of the last week we, as a group of Premier League players, have held numerous talks together with the vision of creating a contribution fund that can be used to distribute money to where it’s needed most in this COVID-19 crisis; helping those fighting for us on the NHS front line as well as other key areas of need," a statement posted by Henderson and many other players on Twitter read.
"This is a critical time for our country and for our NHS, and we are determined to help in any way that we can."