Meet the 3 Africans Ranked Among 50 World’s Greatest Leaders for 2018

Three Africans have been ranked among the top “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” in Fortune magazine’s fifth annual list of individuals who are transforming the world and inspiring others to do the same.

This year’s list focused on individuals who have exhibited tremendous skills towards the effectiveness of their respective organisations.

Specifically, the 2018 list focused on what Fortune describes as “unbundling”, stating that “For centuries, greater size made companies, nations, and other enterprises more efficient and effective. Increasingly, it doesn’t.

“This year’s list puts an emphasis on leaders who are navigating this challenge deftly.”

Here are the Africans that made the cut:

Angela Nyambura Gichaga

Before joining the Financing Alliance for Health in 2017, an organization that helps African countries fund community health programmes, Gichaga was always at the forefront of health service delivery in her home country Kenya. She has worked as a clinician and administrator within the Ministry of Health in diverse working environments, including the city, rural and other remote areas. The goal of the Financing Alliance, set up in 2016, is to support the scale-up of the nearly 700,000 community health workers needed in sub-Saharan Africa to close the health coverage gap, and in turn, save an estimated 300,000 lives a year. Apart from being the main head to direct the affairs of the organization, Gichaga is also a bridge-builder. She persuades donors to expand financing for community health while working with African ministries to make the most of those resources, according to Fortune.

Professor Kelly Chibale

The Zambian-born chemist has been recognized for his work as the founder and director of the continent’s first integrated drug discovery centre at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa. The centre, known as H3D, was established in 2011 and its main focus is to combat malaria and TB. For Chibale, the ultimate goal is to create drugs that will overcome the resistance which is developing to earlier generations of drugs. He hopes to see Africa contribute to medical research beyond just offering the opportunity for clinical trials.

Leymah Gbowee 

The Liberian peace activist is the founder of Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa, an organization that provides leadership and education opportunities across the continent. Her target over the years has been more in the rural areas, where few educational opportunities exist. Here, her organization supports young girls and women with college scholarships. In 2011, Gbowe won the won the Nobel Peace Prize for her commitment to leading a women’s peace movement that helped end the Second Liberian Civil War. Through her “Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace” movement, women were encouraged not to take part in violent protests and more which subsequently enhanced peace in the region.