There are many individuals and organisations in Africa and around the world working to make things better. If you want to learn more about what efforts are being made, why not check out some of our friends' sites?

• Comic Relief 

  Comic Relief is a UK charity that was established over two decades ago. Its vision today remains much the same as back in 1985 when the charity first launched from a refugee camp in Sudan and that is to create a just world, free from poverty using the power of entertainment to drive positive change.

  Although Comic Relief was born out of the tragedy and devastation of the mid-eighties famine in the horn of Africa, Comic Relief isn't about emergency aid. In fact, it's about raising money to invest in long term development work that will help to create demonstrable, sustainable change at home in the UK and across the developing world.

  Comic Relief has so far spent over £292 million through 1712 grants to help the poorest and most vulnerable people across Africa to turn their lives around. To find out more about the kind of work Comic Relief supports, visit www.comicrelief.com

• Divine 

  Comic Relief and Divine Chocolate joined forces in 2000 to make the first ever Fairtrade product for young people – the Dubble bar! Dubble now has its own website choc-full of info, games, puzzles and competitions, to take everyone on a Fairtrade journey from bean to bar! You can also sign up as a Dubble Agent and join thousands of young Fairtrade supporters on a mission to change the world chunk by chunk! www.dubble.co.uk

• Global Campaign for Education (GCE) 

  The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) is a worldwide movement that promotes everyone’s right to education. Every year millions of campaigners in more than 100 countries lobby their governments to keep their promise to provide education for all by 2015. Since the campaign was founded in 2000 the number of children missing out on an education has dropped by 40 million to 75 million. Now we need to keep up the pressure for change. Find out more: www.campaignforeducation.org

• Living Proof 

  Investments in global health are achieving real, demonstrable results. These investments are saving lives, preventing and curing disease, and helping people to escape from poverty. Unfortunately, this message is not reaching many people. Research on the tone of media coverage has shown that stories about global health are generally negative. The same research shows that Americans have had enough of stories that focus on problems, pessimism and guilt; they want to hear about progress, optimism and opportunity.

  The Living Proof Project is a multimedia initiative intended to highlight successes of U.S.-funded global health initiatives. Millions of lives have already been transformed and saved with effective, affordable solutions. We have the knowledge, innovative technologies and proven tools to do much more. Find out more: www.gatesfoundation.org/livingproofproject

• Malaria No More 

  Malaria is the single biggest killer of under fives in Africa but it can be easily stopped. Malaria No More UK, an entrepreneurial, not-for-profit organisation, committed to ending deaths caused by malaria, knows how. There has already been great success in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda and Sao Tome and Principe, which have seen deaths by malaria cut in half - to learn more and find out what you can do to help visit www.malarianomore.org.uk

• ONE campaign 

  ONE is a campaign and lobbying organization co-founded by Bono and backed by more than 2 million people around the world who are committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.

  At ONE, we hold world leaders accountable for the promises they make to the poorest people, and we press these leaders to support better policies for more effective aid and trade reform. We also work with African anti-poverty campaigners and policy experts, many of whom sit on our Policy Advisory Board, to support greater accountability and transparency in developing countries, essential if aid and other resources are to have maximum impact.

• Pa Pa Paa LIVE! 

  Bring Fairtrade to life in your classroom with Pa Pa Paa LIVE! online video broadcasts from a rural school in Ghana attended by Kuapa Kokoo farmers' children. Brought to you by Comic Relief and Trading Visions. www.papapaa.org

• Send My Friend to School 

  Send My Friend to School is the UK bit of the GCE. Students and teachers from 10,000 schools take action each year. In 2005 campaigners made more than 1 million paper ‘buddies’, each representing a child out of school. In 2008 we helped break a record for the world’s biggest lesson, with an amazing 8.8 million participants worldwide. Schools can register to take part at www.sendmyfriend.org