Africa produces some of the most brilliant artists, athletes, and activists worldwide. From the media industry to the political stage, these African celebrities are working to improve lives. The Borgen Project presents the top 10 African celebrities to follow.
1. Patricia Amira, Nigerian, TV Personality
Patricia Amira is a self-proclaimed “optimistic realist” and “closet artist.” She is the “Oprah” of Africa and hosts one of the continent’s most popular talk shows. The Patricia Show transcends national boundaries and identities. The show focuses on achievements across Africa and aims to create social and cultural transformation. The Pan-African talk show is broadcasted in over 45 African countries and averages over 10 million viewers. She currently serves as the Director of the Festival of African Fashion and Arts. The festival encourages collaboration among designers and emphasizes the importance of artists. Amira is also a spokesperson against human trafficking.
2. Nneka, Nigerian, Musician
Nneka is a soul musician of Nigerian-German descent. Investigative journalism and philosophy inform her music, and she often writes about poverty, war, and and social justice issues. Nneka emphasizes the importance of understanding balance and harmony. “It’s important that you recognize yourself as part of the system, too, and that the only way we can make things work is by realizing we are part of the same entity,” Nneka said.
3. Didier Drogba, Ivorian, Soccer Player
Didier Drogba was a leading striker for England’s Chelsea football club and head captain of the Cote D’Ivoire national team. His performance on the field is impressive, but he made headlines at the 2006 FIFA World Cup for something much greater. Drogba begged on live television for a cease-fire on the Ivory Coast. The warring factions subsided within one week. The Telegraph reporter Alex Hayes noted that Drogba is “the face of his country; the symbol of a new, post-civil war Ivory Coast.” He also created the Didier Drogba Foundation, a foundation “to provide financial and material support in both health and education to the African people.” The foundation recently partnered with United Against Malaria (UAM) to help fight malaria.
4. Wole Soyinka, Nigerian, Playwright
Wole Soyinka is a playwright, author, and political activist from Nigeria. Soyinka entered the political stage after lobbying for a cease-fire during Nigeria’s civil war. “The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism,” Soyinka said. This led to his imprisonment for 22 months. He was released in 1969, and he began publishing again. Soyinka became the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986. His novel The Interpreters analyzes the experiences of six different African intellectuals.
5. Neill Blomkamp, South African, Movie Director
Neill Blomkamp is a movie director known for his documentary, handheld cinema style. He blends natural and computer-generated elements effortlessly. Blomkamp co-wrote and directed District 9. The film focused on extraterrestrial refugees in a South African slum. The title derived from real events during the apartheid era at District Six, Cape Town. The film received international fame, and box office sales totaled $200 million. Time magazine named Blomkamp one of the “100 Most Influential People of 2009.”
6. Binyavanga Wainaina, Kenyan, Author
Binyavanga Wainaina founded the first literary magazine in East Africa, entitled Kwani?. The magazine is known as “the most renown literary journal in sub-Saharan Africa.” Wainaina created the magazine after winning the 2002 Caine Prize for African Writing. The Caine Prize is an annual literary award for the best original short story by an African writer. He is known for authoring “How to Write About Africa.” The short story is known as one of the most satirical pieces ever written about Africa.
7. Genevieve Nnaji, Nigerian, Actress
Genevieve Nnaji skyrocketed from a middle class upbringing to Nollywood stardom. She is one of the most popular African celebrities. Nnaji grew up in Lagos, Nigeria as one of eight children. Nnaji began her acting career at eight years old on Ripples, a Nigerian soap opera. She is now one of Africa’s most popular actresses. At only 32 years old, she has starred in over 80 feature films. She is one of the best paid actresses in Nollywood—Nigeria’s feature film industry. “I have always maintained that when they [Hollywood directors and actors] are ready for a young African woman to take part in a project that they will come looking for us,” Nnaji said.
8. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nigerian, Writer
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of Africa’s leading contemporary authors. She is the author of the novels Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun. Adichie delivered a popular TED Talk after publishing The Thing around Your Neck, a collection of short stories. She warns against judging a person or country based on limited information. “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story,” Adichie said. Nigerian history and tragedies inspire her literature. She is one of the most notable authors of disaporan literature.
9. Rokia Traoré, Malian, Musician
Rokia Traoré became famous in 1997 with the release of her first album Mouneissa. Malian singer Ali Farka Touré helped Traoré develop her sound, and she later earned “Best African Discovery” from the Radio France Internationale. Traoré’s father was a Malian Diplomat, and she traveled extensively as a child. Her travels in Algeria, Saudi Arabia, France, and Belgium influenced her music. Traoré joined the 30 Songs/30 Days campaign in September 2012. The campaign supported the Half the Sky movement, based on the book by the same name. The movement focuses on sex trafficking, sexual violence, and female education.
10. Alek Wek, Sudanese, Supermodel
Alex Wek is a supermodel, fashion designer, and political activist. Wek fled Sudan at the age of 14 to escape the civil war. She moved to London, England with her parents and eight siblings and was later discovered at an outdoor market. Ford Models, one of the world’s top modeling agencies, signed her in 1996. By 1997, she was the first African model to appear on the cover of Elle magazine. Wek continues to model but is also a member of the U.S. Committee for Refugees’ Advisory Council. Wek works with World Vision to combat AIDS. She is also an ambassador for Doctors Without Borders in Sudan. She belongs to the Dinka ethnic group
– Whitney M. Wyszynski
Source: Forbes
2 Seeds Network: An Innovative Partnership to Fight Poverty
2Seeds Network pairs recent university graduates with African village communities in order to develop and implement small, sustainable, and efficient agricultural projects designed to meet the needs of each village. The projects aim to support and enhance food and income security by training rural farmers in effective agricultural practices. 2Seeds trains its young project coordinators in leadership, accountability, and cooperation for the betterment of local African communities.
2Seeds Network seeks a partnership between Africa and America for the improvement of both continents. It fosters globally engaged and empathetic leadership on the American side, while improving basic living conditions for those on the African side. African community leaders and farmers benefit from the energy, passion, and creativity of young Americans, who in turn will engage others in global, humanitarian action.
The ultimate goals of the 2Seeds Network are to:
2Seeds Network uses the metrics of food security and income security to measure its programs’ effectiveness Though each project is tailored to the needs of its partner community, Project Coordinators work to achieve two primary goals: that every family grows enough food to eat throughout the year, and that each family increases its income to more than $1 per day.
Stay tuned for an interview with a 2Seeds Network Project Coordinator working on the Lutindi Project in Tanzania. For more information about the organization, visit the 2Seeds Network website.
– Kat Henrichs
Source: 2Seeds Nework
Photo:Agra Soils Research Group
Contaminated Water in China Enters Spotlight on World Water Day
As the UN marks another annual World Water Day, all eyes were focused on Shanghai as the number of dead pigs dragged from rivers that supply the city with water was upped to nearly 16,000 within the last two weeks. Although Chinese officials claim that the incident is not related to water toxicity, the international community has become increasingly concerned as new reports claim that water contamination is the leading cause of illness in the country.
Last week, UNICEF released an alarming study that claims 90 percent of child deaths throughout China were related to bad hygiene and sanitation, and diarrheal disease through polluted water sources. An additional study done by Greenpeace East Asia corroborates these figures and also states that nearly 25 percent of the population has no source of safe drinking water, and an additional 190 million people who are forced to drink from contaminated sources.
Adding to concern is the annual water outlook study by OECD that states demand for water will rise by 55 percent within the next 37 years, while depletion of groundwater sources continues to occur, which the study says will become a major issue for certain regions within the next 10 to 20 years.
Although water access and contamination is slated to reach crisis levels throughout much of the developing world within the next few decades, governments have done relatively little to tackle this issue, with more focusing heavily on energy development and putting water sanitation to the side.
– Christina Kindlon
Source: Guardian
NGOs Make Emergency Appeal for Aid to Syria
A group of 14 UK-based NGOs, The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), has made an “emergency appeal” to provide aid to Syria, which is struggling under the duress of a civil war. With recent news of chemical warfare being used against civilians and a death toll that has reached nearly 70,000, aid groups are struggling to keep up with the deteriorating humanitarian situation.
Recent estimates place at least 8,000 refugees fleeing the country per day, compared to 1,000 per day a few months ago. Because of mass displacement and intense fighting, NGOs and other aid groups are finding it extremely difficult to reach civilians who are in need. Members of the DEC have been able to extend aid to refugees who have fled to other surrounding countries, and a number of other groups have had success reaching people throughout Aleppo, Damascus, Homs, and other areas throughout northern Syria.
The UN asserted that although they have requested $1.5 billion in emergency aid, only a small portion of that need has been met. The DEC’s Chief Executive, Saleh Saeed, said that even though a number of agencies are attempting to work together in the region, there remain a high number of civilians in urgent need, and that “the greatest challenge to meeting those needs remains the barriers to delivering aid which are faced by impartial humanitarian agencies such as our members,” as well as financial pressures.
The total number of people who are in need of aid directly stemming from the situation in Syria has reached 5 million, as the DEC plans to appeal to public and government officials for additional help.
– Christina Kindlon
Source: Guardian
Top 10 African Celebrities to Follow
Africa produces some of the most brilliant artists, athletes, and activists worldwide. From the media industry to the political stage, these African celebrities are working to improve lives. The Borgen Project presents the top 10 African celebrities to follow.
1. Patricia Amira, Nigerian, TV Personality
Patricia Amira is a self-proclaimed “optimistic realist” and “closet artist.” She is the “Oprah” of Africa and hosts one of the continent’s most popular talk shows. The Patricia Show transcends national boundaries and identities. The show focuses on achievements across Africa and aims to create social and cultural transformation. The Pan-African talk show is broadcasted in over 45 African countries and averages over 10 million viewers. She currently serves as the Director of the Festival of African Fashion and Arts. The festival encourages collaboration among designers and emphasizes the importance of artists. Amira is also a spokesperson against human trafficking.
2. Nneka, Nigerian, Musician
Nneka is a soul musician of Nigerian-German descent. Investigative journalism and philosophy inform her music, and she often writes about poverty, war, and and social justice issues. Nneka emphasizes the importance of understanding balance and harmony. “It’s important that you recognize yourself as part of the system, too, and that the only way we can make things work is by realizing we are part of the same entity,” Nneka said.
3. Didier Drogba, Ivorian, Soccer Player
Didier Drogba was a leading striker for England’s Chelsea football club and head captain of the Cote D’Ivoire national team. His performance on the field is impressive, but he made headlines at the 2006 FIFA World Cup for something much greater. Drogba begged on live television for a cease-fire on the Ivory Coast. The warring factions subsided within one week. The Telegraph reporter Alex Hayes noted that Drogba is “the face of his country; the symbol of a new, post-civil war Ivory Coast.” He also created the Didier Drogba Foundation, a foundation “to provide financial and material support in both health and education to the African people.” The foundation recently partnered with United Against Malaria (UAM) to help fight malaria.
4. Wole Soyinka, Nigerian, Playwright
Wole Soyinka is a playwright, author, and political activist from Nigeria. Soyinka entered the political stage after lobbying for a cease-fire during Nigeria’s civil war. “The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism,” Soyinka said. This led to his imprisonment for 22 months. He was released in 1969, and he began publishing again. Soyinka became the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986. His novel The Interpreters analyzes the experiences of six different African intellectuals.
5. Neill Blomkamp, South African, Movie Director
Neill Blomkamp is a movie director known for his documentary, handheld cinema style. He blends natural and computer-generated elements effortlessly. Blomkamp co-wrote and directed District 9. The film focused on extraterrestrial refugees in a South African slum. The title derived from real events during the apartheid era at District Six, Cape Town. The film received international fame, and box office sales totaled $200 million. Time magazine named Blomkamp one of the “100 Most Influential People of 2009.”
6. Binyavanga Wainaina, Kenyan, Author
Binyavanga Wainaina founded the first literary magazine in East Africa, entitled Kwani?. The magazine is known as “the most renown literary journal in sub-Saharan Africa.” Wainaina created the magazine after winning the 2002 Caine Prize for African Writing. The Caine Prize is an annual literary award for the best original short story by an African writer. He is known for authoring “How to Write About Africa.” The short story is known as one of the most satirical pieces ever written about Africa.
7. Genevieve Nnaji, Nigerian, Actress
Genevieve Nnaji skyrocketed from a middle class upbringing to Nollywood stardom. She is one of the most popular African celebrities. Nnaji grew up in Lagos, Nigeria as one of eight children. Nnaji began her acting career at eight years old on Ripples, a Nigerian soap opera. She is now one of Africa’s most popular actresses. At only 32 years old, she has starred in over 80 feature films. She is one of the best paid actresses in Nollywood—Nigeria’s feature film industry. “I have always maintained that when they [Hollywood directors and actors] are ready for a young African woman to take part in a project that they will come looking for us,” Nnaji said.
8. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nigerian, Writer
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of Africa’s leading contemporary authors. She is the author of the novels Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun. Adichie delivered a popular TED Talk after publishing The Thing around Your Neck, a collection of short stories. She warns against judging a person or country based on limited information. “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story,” Adichie said. Nigerian history and tragedies inspire her literature. She is one of the most notable authors of disaporan literature.
9. Rokia Traoré, Malian, Musician
Rokia Traoré became famous in 1997 with the release of her first album Mouneissa. Malian singer Ali Farka Touré helped Traoré develop her sound, and she later earned “Best African Discovery” from the Radio France Internationale. Traoré’s father was a Malian Diplomat, and she traveled extensively as a child. Her travels in Algeria, Saudi Arabia, France, and Belgium influenced her music. Traoré joined the 30 Songs/30 Days campaign in September 2012. The campaign supported the Half the Sky movement, based on the book by the same name. The movement focuses on sex trafficking, sexual violence, and female education.
10. Alek Wek, Sudanese, Supermodel
Alex Wek is a supermodel, fashion designer, and political activist. Wek fled Sudan at the age of 14 to escape the civil war. She moved to London, England with her parents and eight siblings and was later discovered at an outdoor market. Ford Models, one of the world’s top modeling agencies, signed her in 1996. By 1997, she was the first African model to appear on the cover of Elle magazine. Wek continues to model but is also a member of the U.S. Committee for Refugees’ Advisory Council. Wek works with World Vision to combat AIDS. She is also an ambassador for Doctors Without Borders in Sudan. She belongs to the Dinka ethnic group
– Whitney M. Wyszynski
Source: Forbes
Export Impact For Good
The International Trade Center (ITC) is a joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. Its mission is to build and promote businesses in developing countries, assist in becoming more competitive in global markets, speed economic development, and further the achievements of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It now has more than 40 years of hands-on trade and business experience in the developing world, and a very focused approach to export-led poverty reduction. Their slogan, “Export Impact for Good.”
Source: ITC
Photo: Independent.co.uk
Wealth Gap Growing in the United States
Amidst the joy over the DOW reaching an all-time high, as well as the numerous other positive signals that the American economy is in recovery mode, it can be easy to miss the nuanceshidden in the statistics. While Americans on the whole are getting rich again, these gains are not being seen by everyone. When the data is parsed carefully, it is evident that the poorest in our society have failed to see many benefits from the so-called economic recovery. As a result, the wealth gap in the United States continues to grow.
Impoverished people rarely, if ever, have any forms of investment. So when huge gains are seen in financial markets, these benefits do not actually bring any kind of respite from the day-to-day hardships of poverty. The recent gains in American wealth have been largely concentrated among the richest members of society, raising “the bar for success while leaving fewer haves and more have-nots.”
The economy as a whole has managed to get back to its pre-recession figures without bringing back the same levels of employment, home ownership, home value, or income inequality. Companies have been unwilling to hire for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is uncertainty about which way Washington’s budget struggles will play out. Without knowing what tax rates will be, it can be hard for a business to make any kind of large expenditure determinations. At a time when calls have been renewed to raise the minimum wage to be in line with inflation, these new figures from the Federal Reserve should work to galvanize support for policies which work to reduce poverty using the powerful engine of capitalism—an approach which is as American as baseball and apple pie.
– Jake Simon
Source: US News
Life for African Mothers Supports Neonatal Care
Almost half of all deaths in recent years in the Somaliland region of Somalia have been neonatal; that is to say that many children die in the first few days of their lives. Thankfully, organizations like Life for African Mothers are working to combat the issues of maternal health and frighteningly high infant mortality rates in many regions of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Life for African Mothers began providing medication to treat maternal health issues back in 2008 after U.K. Somalis solicited the aid on behalf of the residents of their homeland. The organization also provides crucial medication to hospitals and clinics in parts of Nigeria, Chad, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. Once delivered to Somaliland, that medication is distributed by The Somaliland Nursing and Midwifery Association to the many clinics that receive support from the organization. Ambassadors from Life for African Mothers recently visited the region and inspected the hospital facilities that receive their aid and found that the labor and delivery areas were clean and serviceable.
The latest data available from the World Health Organization still states that the entire country of Somalia has one of the highest rates of neonatal mortality on Earth. While great aid organizations continue in their efforts to change this depressing figure, it is critical that they not be left to complete the task by themselves.
– Kevin Sullivan
Source: Wales Online, WHO
Photo: Life for African Mothers
Where are Iraqi Women Now?
The end of a ten-year war seems like a time of hope, of rebuilding and starting over. Yet, for Iraqi women, hope does not seem like it’s in the cards. The last ten years have not been a time of progress for them. Rather, it has been a time of regression, in which many of their rights have been taken away, either by law or by the increasing amount of violence occurring in Iraq.
On paper, it looks like the women of Iraq are increasingly engaged with civil society. With elections happening in April, pictures of Iraqi women of different political parties are appearing throughout the city of Baghdad, giving a glimpse of equality amongst men and women. However, in reality, women are not making much of a political appearance, though not through the fault of their own. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has not elected a female to a single Senior Cabinet position and only one Department is headed by women: The Ministry of Women’s Affairs.
Violence in the streets of Iraq is also resulting in a loss of freedom for Iraqi women. It is no longer safe for them to walk in the streets alone, leaving many stuck inside their homes. According to many women’s groups, the increase in violence and poor security for women is the result of “the social and economic pressure that families face, the lack of public and political will to stop it, and the increased religious conservatism that often justifies the violence”. The lack of political will to stop it can be seen in the replacement of the Family Statutes Law, with one giving cultural and religious groups control of regulating family affairs, meaning that tribal leaders and religious groups can decide on issues involving divorce, marriage, custody, and inheritance using religious laws or cultural ways of living. Often times, these laws and ways of living do not favor women. This is a large setback for women because it means that women are not guaranteed equal treatment under the law.
The Iraq of today is worse for women than the Iraq of 1980. Yet, this has not discouraged Iraqi women from still standing up for women’s rights and hoping for change. Political participation is one way for women to gain freedom, yet, much more must be done to ensure equality is in their future.
– Angela Hooks
Source: CNN
Photo: CNN
Millennium Consumption Goals Demand Sustainability
Currently, humanity uses natural resources 1.5 times quicker than the Earth can replenish them. Among the heavy consumers, the world’s richest 19% consume 85% of the total global output, which is 60-fold what the world’s poorest 19% consume. Although this type of consumption has a negative effect on the Earth, it has a less obvious effect on the world’s poor.
According to Professor Mohan Munasinghe, this type of over-consumption is not only too taxing on the Earth, but it also lessens the supply of natural resources to the world’s poor. The effect of this shortage is the increase of price for resources and basic products which heightens tensions among the impoverished.
By consuming sustainably, the world’s rich will both help impoverished communities and the environment. To help aid in the fight against over-consumption, Professor Munasinghe is an advocate of the Millennium Consumption Goals.
The Millennium Consumption Goals are a set of benchmarks which help reduce consumption without drastically changing the lifestyle of the world’s rich. These benchmarks were designed to be used in accompaniment with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) established by the UN. Since their creation, the MDGs have made a huge impact in reducing the amount of global poverty. Perhaps, with a little effort, the Millennium Consumption goals can have the same effect.
– Pete Grapentien
Source: The Irish Times
Moss: The Key to Ending World Hunger?
An Australian researcher may have fortuitously discovered a way to reduce world hunger. Professor and Geneticist John Bowman was studying the reproductive cycles of moss in pursuit of a common ancestor of all land plants. In doing so, he discovered a way for “high-yield, drought-resistant plants” to “clone themselves via their seeds” in a process called apomixis. The implications of such a discovery means cheaper and more accessible hybrid seeds for farmers in developing countries.
Since farmers would no longer have to continuously buy seeds (the seeds multiply themselves), the costs and risks (droughts, increased prices of seeds) associated with farming could diminish. This could mean more crops and less hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.
Professor John Bowman and his partner, Dr. Keiko Sakakibara, were able to achieve apomixis by removing the gene KNOX2 from moss. The doctors explain how plants take different forms in “alternating generations.” In one generation, the plant would be in diploid state, meaning that each cell has two sets of DNA (in humans, the sperm and egg), and in the next generation, it would be haploid, which is the “tiny single-cell sperm and eggs that we produce contain only the male or female DNA.” When the scientists removed KNOX2, it caused the diploid generation to become a haploid generation, thus allowing the moss to create identical seeds of the mother.
Although the process has not been mainstreamed yet, Professor Bowman is already excited about its potential to reduce world hunger. He may not have begun the experiment with the intention of ending hunger, but Bowman is eager to help as many people living in poverty and hunger as possible.
– Mary Penn
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald