John,

Last week, world leaders — yet again — missed the opportunity to make real progress in ending the global pandemic. G20 leaders came together for the Global Health Summit and while there were some positive announcements, countries failed to commit to the urgent measures the world needs right now. 

Over the last few weeks, thousands of ONE supporters signed our petition, sent tweets and messages to leaders and some of our young activists even created a giant face mask, made out of recycled and sanitised masks, to grab leaders' attention. 

Over the next month, world leaders will come together again. We will continue pushing for a global roadmap to coordinate delivery of COVID-19 vaccines and inoculate at least 70% of the world’s population as soon as possible. In the meantime, here are the 7 most important moments from the Global Health Summit:

Changemakers in Africa

May 25th was Africa Day, an annual celebration of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (now called the African Union) in 1963. Today, we're shining a spotlight on some of the changemakers in film, journalism and activism across the continent.

18 year old Azile draws on her own experiences to support other survivors of gender-based violence.

Award-Winning African Storytellers

Zainab Bala and Bernadette Vivuya are the award winners of the 2021 Michael Elliott Award for Excellence in African Storytelling.

Bala's winning entry, The Almajiri, is a gripping documentary that focuses on children in northern Nigeria who left their homes for Islamic education in the nation’s capital where they were neglected and abused by their religious teachers.

Vivuya's entry is an investigative piece exposing the brutal practice of child miners in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 

Empowering young survivors of gender-based violence in South Africa:

“I don’t call myself a victim. I call myself a victor,” says 18-year-old Azile. At The Justice Desk’s Mbokodo Club in Cape Town, South Africa, young survivors of gender-based violence between the ages of 10 and 19 years old learn mental health, girl empowerment, leadership, fitness and self-defense.

From Lagos to London, D.C. to Dakar. One by One. We make change happen.

Celebrating ONE supporters and activists everywhere

This month marked 17 years since the ONE Campaign was founded 🎉🎉🎉 and since then, we’ve accomplished a lot! The power of one voice, one action and one vote is tremendous. The power that one individual has can change the world. And together, with our global activists and hundreds of thousands of ONE supporters like you across the world, that's exactly what we're doing.

To celebrate the power of activism, we took to social media to share some tips from our activists on how to get policymakers’ attention and affect change, how to be an at-home activist, and created a brand new video celebrating what ONE supporters and activists have achieved together:

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

-Nelson Mandela.

As part of our Africa Day celebrations, Mpho McChambers and other ONE Champions shared their favourite quotes and what Africa Day means to them.

How unequal COVID-19 vaccine distribution could prolong the pandemic

Right now, less than 1% of the vaccines administered globally have gone to people living in low-income countries. African countries are vaccinating, on average, less than 0.04% of their populations every day. At this rate, reaching global herd immunity could take years – especially if we can't massively increase vaccine supply. 

Dive into the data to learn more:

Other Interesting Reads:

• Three Things The G20 Can Do Right Now To End The Pandemic
• How close is the world to herd immunity to COVID-19?
• Tracking children's lost potential: the data behind COVID's impact on education 
• LISTEN: GlobalGoals Podcast episode "Equity Saves Lives"