Since the beginning of the year, the spread of coronavirus has dominated the news, and for good reason. So far, the virus has infected about 82,0000 people worldwide and killed about 2,900. In a new development, Nigeria confirmed the first case of coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa on 28 February. The virus was brought by an Italian citizen working in Nigeria, who is currently stable with no serious symptoms. It comes as no surprise that coronavirus has now reached sub-Saharan Africa, but...
On the sidelines of a recent African Union Summit, ONE brought together young people from nine countries for the African Youth Consultation on Job Creation.  The 20 participants discussed how to mobilize young Africans’ opinions on key policy commitments and reforms that can enable African countries to create 1 million decent jobs annually by 2021. The meeting set the stage for reaching out to 1 million young Africans to drive the campaign. Join the discussion with Africa Youth Envoy, Aya Chebbi...
Fatou Warkha Samb is is an activist, a founding member of the #DAFADOY collective, and a ONE Champion. As we celebrate the passage of new rape laws in Senegal, she shares her story. I live in the suburbs of Dakar, Senegal, where we live side by side with all the evils of the world — poverty, social inequalities and violence. I have seen many women and girls who no longer have a taste for life because they were raped. I...
Since June 2019, ONE and our partners have been calling for the sexual assault laws in Senegal to be dramatically improved in order to protect women and girls from gender-based violence. The campaign grew quickly through a new petition and partnerships with local groups. We engaged supporters by email, social media, blog posts, and on-the-ground activity — with more than 97,000 people from across the globe joining our calls. And we’re proud to say all our efforts have led to...
Late last year, we introduced you to five fantastic musicians who are using their talent to fight corruption in Africa. We asked you to vote for your favorite, and you answered. The winner of the 2019 Accountability Music Awards is Chioma “Cill” Ogbonna! “I am glad to see that people still embrace music that inspires them to do right and not act like spectators, music that awakens their consciousness; this is exactly what conscious music is to me.” — Chioma...
Recruitment for the first cohort of the ONE Champions programme in Kenya and Ethiopia is now open. We’re looking for passionate activists to join us! Our ONE Champions are volunteers between the ages of 18 and 35, with a passion for changing the world and a commitment to ending extreme poverty in all its shapes and forms. We are looking for people who will mobilise their families, friends and communities to fight extreme poverty and ask their policymakers difficult questions...
Aya Chebbi, the African Union Youth Envoy, has some exciting news to share: Aya is looking for a young African designer to collaborate with to design an exceptional outfit for her to wear to this year’s African Union Summit in February. This is a fantastic opportunity for designers to show off their creative genius at the AU Summit in Ethiopia. The outfit should draw inspiration from the theme of the year, “Silencing The Guns”. This theme focuses on ‘ending all wars,...
Despite global health progress, many are still left behind, including women and girls. We have a long way to go to end maternal and child deaths and stop gender-based violence. Across the world, it is estimated that more than 200 million women and girls have been subjected to female genital mutilation. And all women are yet to get access to voluntary family planning: an estimated 232 million women in developing countries want to prevent pregnancy, but are not using...
Growing up with her grandparents on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, Lisa Michael Jones has witnessed the hardships of Tanzanian farmers. She remembers the time in 2016 when her grandfather invested in a large portion of land to start production of watermelons, just to see the harvest fail and return home empty-handed. “After that loss, I haven’t seen my grandpa cultivate a large piece of land again. Now he just farms at a small plot close to our house,”...
Zanzibar’s teenage girls are often expected to assist with cooking and housekeeping. But 15-year-old Aisha Bakary had a different idea of how to spend her time. As the oldest of nine siblings, she would find spare moments to turn up the volume on the TV or the radio, listening to lounge, house, afro and traditional taarab music. Nearly 10 years later, 24-year-old Aisha has made music her career. “There are no women DJs here in Zanzibar, so I thought I...