Music star named Harvard humanitarian of the year

omotolani

February 24, 2017 9:24 AM

The singer has been busy with charity work behind the scenes and fans didn't even notice.

Rihanna

Rihanna has been named Harvard University’s Humanitarian of the Year.

The singer is set to collect the prize on Harvard's campus next week in honour of her philanthropic endeavours in her native country of Barbados and beyond.

According to Harvard Foundation director S Allen Counter, "Rihanna has charitably built a state-of-the-art centre for oncology and nuclear medicine to diagnose and treat breast cancer at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Bridgetown, Barbados."

Her charity work has seen her travel widely as an ambassador for her Clara Lionel Foundation, an initiative that she founded to aid “the fight against injustice, inequality, and poverty” across the world, improving “access to education and health” for people of all nations.

In January, she visited Malawi, meeting with government officials and students there, and welcomed Prince Harry to Barbados in November 2016 as part of a campaign to raise awareness of HIV testing on World AIDS Day.

omotolani