Africa + AIDS =

Paul Garbett of Naughtyfish design in Sydney, Australia shared this aggressive poster design.

The text reads:

"There are currently 26 million people living with AIDS in Africa.
During 2005, there were 3.2 million new infections in Africa and
2.4 million deaths as a result of AIDS. Africa has 12 million AIDS orphans.
Of the 6.5 million people living in developing and transitional countries
who need live saving AIDS drugs, only 1.3 million are receiving them.*

Don’Äôt you find that offensive?"

AfriGadget

With the tagline "Solving everyday problems with African ingenuity" the AfriGadget blog is a refreshing change from the typical images we see of "poor" Africans. The site is edited by a diverse group of people, many of whom grew up in Kenya. Not only do they post items they found themselves, but they have even started their own Grassroots Reporting Project.

Recent posts include parafin lamps made from used tin cans, a DIY band created to pay for school (left), and something they call (ahem) F-art. (also shown: Togolese Bottle Opener and Ugandan Village Toy)

Stop Pain

Check out the campaign from the French non-governmental humanitarian organization, supported by the World Health Organization and state-approved, Douleurs Sans Frontiˆ®res (Pain Without Borders). Like Doctors Without Borders they try to help people with medical and social care in areas where suffering caused by wars, disasters or hunger never ends.
In their campaign they used the treadmill to show the endless suffering of people in places like Cambodia, Indonesia or Africa.
This campaign was made in March of 2008 by TBWA/MAP Paris and is meant for raising funds.

"To put an end to endless pain, Make a donation"
War : Cambodia


















Tsunami : Indonesia


















Fires and War : Africa


















They also have a video :


Source.

Water in Africa

Good 50x70 had the great idea to invite designers to submit posters for good causes.

Artist, designer, and urban planner in New York City, Candy Chang, did this great poster in collaboration with James Reeves for the African Medical and Research Foundation (amref) to bring awareness about the scarcity of safe water access in Africa.













Source.

News Roundup

A bunch of recent-ish stories I've been meaning to post for a while...

Ode Magazine:

The ins and outs of Eco-Tourism

An overview of the friendlier, funnier "New Activism"

Earth-Friendly Fast-Food?

Christian Science Monitor:

Using bikes instead of trucks for transport.

Why organic farming is good for Africa

"Just how 'green' is that shirt?"

Miss Landmine 2008

The Miss Landmine competition in Angola is a simultaneous protest against the use of deadly landmines and a celebration of a broader view of beauty. Created by Norwegian artist Morten Traavik the competition will culminate in a live event on April, 4 2008. You can read about the candidates and vote for a winner on the Miss Landmine site.

via Boing Boing

News Roundup

Sorry for the long quiet from me, I've got a bunch to post and hope to be updating more frequently in the coming weeks. First off some news clippings I've been collecting...

From the Christian Science Monitor:

Ethiopians tradmarking coffee to ensure Fair Trade.

Eating "green" at environmentally friendly restaurants.

Study finds White House manipulated climate science.

Africa begins banning plastic bags.

News Roundup

Several great articles have appeared in recent issues of the Christian Science Monitor:

Ugandan women improve their lives making paper beads.

Green roofs appearing on New York houses.

Trash ovens in Kenya save trees.

Reducing the racist disparity between crack and cocaine sentencing.

And from Mother Jones:

Chinese toy imports and the lack of U.S. safety regulations.
Which is followed by a short list of stories about the problems with a self-regulating industry including this gem:

HASBRO EASY-BAKE OVENS In 2006, Hasbro overhauled its iconic oven with a new design and heating system. By the following February, the company had to recall nearly 1 million ovens because children had suffered burns after getting their hands caught in them. Rather than taking the ovens back, Hasbro got the cpsc [consumer product safety commission] to sign off on an easier fix: It would send a repair kit to any consumer who requested it. The ovens were recalled again this July, after 77 kids had gotten burned; one five-year-old had to have a finger amputated. This time, consumers got to return their ovens’Äîfor a voucher, good only for another Hasbro product.