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Yemi Alade
Nigerian singer-songwriter Yemi Alade was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 23 September 2020.
With five albums and many hits under her belt, the Nigerian star is one of the biggest Afro-pop female artists on the African continent, and the first to hit over 100 million views on YouTube.
As a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador, Yemi Alade is leveraging her platform to mobilise support for the Sustainable Development Goals focusing on fighting inequality, promoting gender equality, and raising awareness of the disproportionate impact of climate change on women and girls.
“Climate change is not gender-neutral”, said Yemi Alade, whose collaboration with UNDP started in early 2020, when she participated in the launch of UNDP’s Mission 1.5 climate action initiative. “Women in developing countries, such as my homeland Nigeria, are particularly vulnerable to climate change because they are highly dependent on local natural resources for their livelihood.”
In 2023, Yemi Alade dominated the UNGA78 main stage with performances during the SDG Action Weekend at the General Assembly Hall and SDG Summit Halftime Show, where she sang a duet with legendary singer and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo.
Together with fellow UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Yemi Alade joined a line-up of celebrity advocates for gender equality, including Natalie Portman, Cecilia Suarez and Ashley Judd in a panel discussion on fighting gender-based violence for the Spotlight High Impact Initiative.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Yemi Alade turned the spotlight on the half of the world’s population who struggle to make ends meet and were hit hardest by the crisis. She joined UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner in delivering opening remarks at UNDP’s High-Level Political Forum side event focused on the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on people without any social protections such as unemployment benefits or healthcare.
An award-winning artist, Yemi Alade won, in 2018 and 2019, the Headies Award for Best Performer and made the Forbes Africa 30 under 30 list. She also collaborated with American singer-songwriter Beyoncé and, in 2019, was featured on the artist’s “The Lion King: The Gift” album. Prior to that, in 2016, she won the Independent Music Award for Best Album and the MTV Africa Music Award for Best Female. In 2015, she won the Nigeria Entertainment Award for Female Artist of the Year.
