Yvonne Chaka Chaka is an internationally recognized and highly respected South African singer, song writer, entrepreneur, Global Health Advocate and Humanitarian. Dubbed the “Princess of Africa” Yvonne has been at the forefront of South African popular music for 30+ years. Born in 1965 in Soweto, she was the first black child to appear on South African television. At the age of 19 she released her debut album “I’m in Love with a DJ,” which sold 35 000 copies in a week and the song “Umqombothi” was featured in the opening scene of the movie Hotel Rwanda. As her music career took off, so did her humanitarian work. Throughout her career, she has used her music to raise awareness of and empathy for challenges facing people across Africa, such as poverty, education and health. She has served as a Goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and the Roll Back Malaria Partnership for the past 12 years, advocating for Malaria prevention, education and treatment. In addition to campaigning for the medication and bed nets that will help end Malaria, Yvonne has worked as a Global Fund Champion to raise international funding to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and ensuring that all the children are reached with vaccines as a GAVI Champion. As a MDG Envoy for Africa she worked to inspire African leaders and decision makers to increase domestic funding for health. In 2006, she formed The Princess of Africa Foundation, which was established to complement her work as a Goodwill Ambassador and aims to carry out community and advocacy work. Chosen by Nelson Mandela to be his first ambassador for the 46664 Campaign, she has been ranked by Forbes Magazine as one of the top ten most influential celebrities in Africa, and named one of the Top 100 Heroes of South Africa by the City Press newspaper and one of South Africa’s 21 Icons. Yvonne is the first African woman to have been awarded the Crystal Award by the WEF World Economic Forum, in Davos in 2012 recognizing her Humanitarian work.
