Oprah, Shonda Rhimes + More Stars Join ONE Campaign: "Poverty Is Sexist"

by Taylor Ferber 3/7/2016

Poverty is sexist.

Stars including Oprah, Shonda Rhimes, Jennifer Lopez, Charlize Theron, Meryl Streep, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Mark Ruffalo, Katie Holmes, Bono, Elton John and Muhammad Ali are joining forces to ensure that this is no longer an issue.

Just ahead of International Women’s Day tomorrow, The ONE Campaign announced that Hollywood’s most powerful stars, athletes and CEOs signed an open letter to politicians, proving that women in “extreme poverty suffer the hardest.” The Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira will even be in DC tomorrow to speak to Congress, explaining how imperative it is to get support of policies and funding for women around the world.

Here are some facts:

Girls account for 74% of all new HIV infections among adolescents in Africa

40% of women in Africa suffer from anemia, which results in 20% of maternal deaths

The 20 toughest places to be born a girl are also among the poorest places on the planet (according to ONE’s report)

What exactly do these celebrities and other social influencers want, exactly? 1. The replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and 2. The Nutrition for Growth Summit. They want resources that can help women progress, socially and economically, to be utilized.

How are they going about making change? With the open letter aforementioned, which you can sign here. Also, a research report and ranking of the world’s most difficult places to be born a girl (you can see both here).