We return to the series covering the ravaging impact of tuberculosis. As more resistant strains promulgate, TB is truly becoming a super bug. New solutions are being researched and developed and these need to reach those who need it most, the poor and the marginalised.

Professor Helen McShane has dedicated the last 12 years of her life to developing a new tuberculosis vaccine. We follow her team’s unprecedented work at Oxford University and explore why now is a pivotal moment in history to save millions of lives and end the TB epidemic.

The fourth installment of the series,  Chapter 4: The Last Mile follows below. Watch as ever more effective strides are being made to combat this pandemic is being fought at all levels. 

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GAIN, the organisation I chair, and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted AIM, the Amsterdam Initiative against Malnutrition in The Hague.

I delivered the closing remarks at the event. If we wish to combat malnutrition and its severe impact on the global community effectively, all stakeholders including big business, government, civil society and small scale farmers should band together for an effective response.  AIM members are taking a step in the right direction by developing unique multi-stakeholder partnerships with local actors in developing countries to combat malnutrition which affects 2 billion people worldwide.

A video summary of the event follows.

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We return to the discussion between myself, Mark Heywood (Executive Director at Section 27), Tracey Henry (CEO at Tshikululu Social Investments)  and Danny Sriskandarajah (Secretary General at Civicus) at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS).

Discussions of this nature, need to be inclusive and as many voices as possible need to be heard. So this, part two of the video series covering the event features the interaction between the panelists and members of the audience.  Excellent questions and comments were made and this level of dialogue should happen at every level of society to build a truly participatory democracy.

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I joined Mark Heywood (Executive Director at Section 27), Tracey Henry (CEO at Tshikululu Social Investments)  and Danny Sriskandarajah (Secretary General at Civicus) at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) recently,  to talk about the important role Civil Society Organisations have to play in governance. As we enter the dusk of the 2015 Millennium Developmental Goals, we need to ask ourselves, what has impeded development globally, what support has civil society received from corporates and governments in building stronger, participatory democracies?

Social justice should be at the centre of civil society’s interventions, but how can they deliver when business and government is suspicious of these efforts and civil society organisations themselves have professionalised their work? We discussed all these challenges facing the global community today specifically looking at the state of affairs in South Africa.  It is up to every individual to lend their strength to building any democracy, how do we go about this? Our conversation follows.

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“Bra Tjo-Tjo” is a creative way of reflecting South Africans’ sentiments on corruption. “We are proud to be supporting young voices like animator Mdu Ntuli’s, who are already engaging with the negative effects that corruption will have on our future if we don’t take a stand now. This campaign aims to get as many South Africans on our side as possible,” says David Lewis, Director of Corruption Watch.

The fresh, funky approach certainly seems to be working as Corruption Watch this week notches up its record number of hits and sees comments from tickled viewers come streaming in. This is the first time in South Africa that an anti-corruption organisation has sponsored a talented young digital story-teller allowing him to tell his own stories in his own way.

Corruption is a scourge that robs ordinary citizens from their just, constitutional entitlements. It is a scourge that stunts our growth and the well being all citizens fought so hard for and deserve. Report Corruption in all its forms and let us strive for a better life for all. Bra Tjo-Tjo’s hilarious antics follow below.

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