Chat show queen Oprah Winfrey, actress Meryl Streep and singer Elton John have called on world leaders to put girls at the heart of anti-poverty efforts. They made the call on Tuesday in London in an open letter, by the 80 plus signatories, published on the eve of International Women’s Day. The celebrities argued that the emphasis had become imperative because the new index revealed that Niger was the toughest country to be a girl. The 80 plus signatories include; boxer Muhammad Ali, actors Robert Redford and Colin Farrell, actresses Charlize Theron and Patricia Arquette. Others are; Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg and U2 singer Bono, co-founder of anti-poverty charity ONE which published the letter. The host of prominent figures urged leaders to improve girls’ and women’s access to education, justice and technology and help them fight HIV and malnutrition. The celebrities said it was “an outrage’’ that girls make up three-quarters of all new HIV infections among adolescents in Africa. They also condemned the situation where 40 per cent of women on the continent suffer from anaemia which results in a fifth of maternal deaths. The letter stressed further that there was no where on earth do women have as many opportunities as men. “While the debate around this truth rages everywhere, girls and women living in extreme poverty those often hit hardest by the injustice of gender inequality have been left out of the conversation. “This must change. The fight for gender equity is global,’’ they said. Elton John said the number of young girls affected by HIV was “heartbreaking’’. He said “the leaders and all concerned have the chance to stop HIV/AIDS in our lifetime, therefore all must raise their voices now to make sure it happens’’.
Vanguard
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