Beyonce, Merkel raise awareness for Africa

Global Citizen was co-founded 10 years ago by Australian Hugh Evans and partnered by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as well as a variety of NGOs. On Sunday, the stars turned out for a big concert in the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In a message beamed on screen during the event, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany wanted to work with Africa to offer its young people good prospects for the future. 

"With this in mind, we have just launched the Development Investment Fund here in Berlin," Merkel said. "We hope to raise up to a billion euros through this fund."

Germany will make available €63 million ($71 million) to the International Fund for Agricultural Development over the next three years. 

The concert was broadcast live and is the latest in an annual series aimed at drawing attention to social issues, including access to health care, clean drinking water and women's rights.  

Global commitments 

Over the last seven years, millions of people supporting Global Citizen have sent emails, tweets, petition signatures and phone calls with the aim of ending extreme poverty by 2030.   

Since 2012, nearly 16 million actions have helped generate commitments and policy announcements estimated to be worth over $37.9 billion.

Last year's concert was held in Hamburg, the first one to be held in Germany, whose government last year pledged to reach and maintain the UN target for development aid.

Pledges came in throughout the day, including from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who sent a message with a pledge for education for women and girls.

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