A grassroots association of local Ebola fighters also released a — very different — video .
Stringer / Reuters
Most of the talk has been about aging British rocker Bob Geldof's controversial choice to remake his popular but problematic charity song, "Do They Know It's Christmas?," even though West African artists have already released a charity song empty of the negative stereotypes of Africa critics say undermine Geldof's message.
The most common criticism of Geldof's fundraising jingle is that it undermines the agency of Africans to address their own needs — a point raised by both of today's videos, one from a well-resourced global campaign, the other a grassroots initiative.
The well-resourced and global ONE campaign released a celebrity-heavy — and fairly angry — Ebola video. "Talk is cheap. It's time for action."
youtube.com / Via one.org
Sixteen celebrities and two Liberian health workers appear in the video. The subjects — and the video itself — convey an impatience with the recent rhetoric about Ebola that's uncommon among global players of ONE's stature.
The video was released simultaneously with ONE's Ebola Response Tracker, which shows just how much of the money promised by governments and donors has actually showed up. The Tracker is a unique and useful accountability tool, although the video itself connects viewers instead to a petition, urging in general language that world leaders act.
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