British actor and filmmaker Idris Elba and his wife Sabrina Dhowre Elba have helped kick off an appeal for a United Nation relief fund to help rural communities affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Idris Elba and Sabrina, who are both recovering from mild cases of the coronavirus, launch a new global coronavirus relief fund on behalf of the United Nations’ International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on Monday.

With $40M in seed money from IFAD, the multi-donor COVID-19 fund aims to raise an additional $200M from governments, foundations and the private sector to ease the impact of COVID-19 on rural small-scale farmers and producers and thereby prevent a hunger crisis.

The fund “needs more assistance to carry on the work that is desperately needed to keep food systems operating in rural areas if we are to come out of this crisis together and avoid needless hunger and suffering,” said Elba in a statement.

The fund seeks to help them continue to grow their crops, keep their businesses open and maintain access to financial services and markets as their countries deal with lockdowns and movements are restricted.

Elba is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations’ International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The Wire actor disclosed last month that he had tested positive for coronavirus and had quarantined himself. Idris and Sabrina, 30, are recovering in New Mexico, where the actor was filming when he became sick. The couple plan to return to London as soon as they can get a flight.