HIV/AIDS remains a global concern. International star and Zimbabwean playwright Danai Gurira is using her celebrity to battle for its elimination.
A SUPERHERO ON THE big screen and now a possible superhero in real life, actor and playwright, Danai Gurira, is making it her mission to join the fight against HIV/AIDS.
She is known for playing General Okoye in one of last year’s biggest films, Black Panther, which grossed over a billion dollars worldwide.
The famous Zimbabwean says the fight against the epidemic has been evident in her life ever since she was a little girl.
Recently appointed a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, she chats to FORBES AFRICA about her work.
On December 3, 2018, a day after the Global Citizen Festival where Gurira made an appearance as a cohost to rapturous applause from an audience of 75,000 in Johannesburg, we meet her at an HIV clinic on the outskirts of the city in a township called Tembisa. It’s a trial clinic called Imbokodo for testing a combination of two experimental vaccines to prevent HIV.
At the clinic, Gurira meets with a group of women heading it, to discuss and learn how the trials work.
One of the women, dressed in a pink blouse, responsible for creating the trial vaccine, talks to Gurira about their work. Maria Grazia Pau is the Senior Director, Compound Development Team Leader, for the HIV vaccine programs at Janssen.
Pau has over 18 years of experience in the field of viral vectors. “We have seen responses in the body
systemically when we check the blood but also we have checked other studies, and we do see responses there,” she tells Gurira.
Everyone in the room pays attention. “The composition is complex, we want to protect from many different types of HIV because there are so many traits everywhere,” Pau says.
“Right,” Gurira nods attentively. “It is the answer to elimination,” Gurira says.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 2019-Ausgabe von Forbes Africa.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 2019-Ausgabe von Forbes Africa.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
TRACK, WATCH, BEFRIEND
IN THE PRISTINE WILDERNESS OF GABON ARE THE MAJESTIC AND GENTLE WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLAS. A FIRSTHAND REPORT FROM OUR TRAVEL WRITER ON WHAT GOES INTO HABITUATING THEM.
CHALLENGING BUT NECESSARY: THE AI BALANCING PROBLEM
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues transforming many industries, providing unprecedented opportunities for innovation and efficiency. However, these advancements bring complex challenges that necessitate a delicate balancing act.
BEYOND ACADEMIA: THE SOCIETAL IMPACT OF MULTILATERAL EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
The great poet William Butler Yeats once said, \"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.\"
The Business Of Dance: Embracing One's Individuality And Style
In the dynamic world of street dance, passion and perseverance pave the way for success. Living out this ethos is South African born B-girl turned businesswoman, Courtnaé Paul.
COMPASSION FATIGUE: THE DANGEROUS DESCENT FROM HELPING TO HURTING
It is a workplace reality that caring too much for your colleagues can hurt you.
IT HAS NEVER BEEN MORE CRITICAL TO FIND OUR NICHE
Have you found your niche? I received a lot of advice when I set up my company, but perhaps the most important consisted of just three words: Find Your Niche.
HOW TO MAKE AFRICA WIN OFF THE FIELD TOO
When all else fails, try sports. It's good for the soul.
BEAN THERE, DONE THAT
British author Roald Dahl tapped into every chocoholic's imagination when creating Willy Wonka's bizarre chocolate factory in his 1964 children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN WORKING WITH AL PACINO ON BROADWAY'
Arnold Vosloo Actor
BLENDED FINANCE: BRIDGING THE GAP IN EMERGING MARKETS IN SUPPORT OF THE SDGS
Amid the widespread global support for the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there was an underlying concern among economists and financial advisors in the emerging and frontier markets: public sector and donor funds were stalled, if not regressing, and the funding gap to realize the SDGs was increasing.
