Leading entertainers Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde and Paris-based Asa Elemide will lead a global campaign to pool 1 million young Africans to act against Ebola in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, The Future Awards Africa (TFAA) has announced. The #StopEbola campaign will also be led by TFAA Young Person of the Year 2013 Ashish Thakkar.
The #StopEbola campaign will get young Africans to support the World Health Organization by donating social media updates and a minimum of $25 between now and the awards date via the portal www.stopebola.com. The funds go directly to the United Nations Ebola Response Fund. The Future Awards Africa holds on Sunday, December 7, 2014, at the Intercontinental Hotels in Lagos, Nigeria.
“Ebola has been defeated in Nigeria,” said Nnaji who has actively supported causes including the Pink Ball against cancer. “This shows that with the will and resources it can be defeated anywhere else. We need to get involved beyond talk and beyond sympathy. As long as it Remains anywhere in Africa, we are all at risk, and we can come together to stop this from happening. Join me, and join all of us now on www.stopebola.com.”
A release by Red Communication, a public relations and marketing company, also quotes Jalade-Ekeinde as saying: “This goes to the core of what is important to me, and what should be important to all of us who are very concerned about our continent. Just when the world has begun to pay attention to Africa as a destination for rapid growth and investment, we cannot allow Ebola define the narrative. We need to put a stop to this immediately, and young people need to take the lead.”
The #StopEbola hashtag campaign kicked off officially on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
