A rockin' cause. - Bono - rock star lobbies governments for African AIDS funding and debt relief - founder of Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa DATA - Brief Article

Current Events, Jan 23, 2004

U2's Bono describes himself as a spoiled-rotten rock star. "U2 fans have given me a great life.... In return, there's a deal.... Use this spotlight to shine on bigger problems," he said. Bono picked an awfully big problem--Africa's AIDS epidemic and debt crisis. After a benefit concert in Africa in 1985, he spent a month working in Ethiopia during a major famine. "I saw stuff there that reorganized the way I saw the world. I didn't know quite what to do about it. You can throw pennies at the problem, but at a certain point, I felt God is not looking for alms, God is looking for action. You can't fix every problem, but the ones that you can, we have to [fix]," he said.

In 2002, Bono founded DATA, a nonprofit group whose letters stand for Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa. The group works to raise public awareness and lobby governments to help combat AIDS in Africa. "AIDS, as an emergency, is like a cancer. It metastasizes as a problem," said Bono. According to DATA, 6,500 people in Africa die every day from AIDS-related illnesses, and 9,500 people there contract the HIV virus that causes AIDS. "It's actually cheaper to deal with [the problem] quickly," said Bono. To that end, the rock star recently lobbied President George W. Bush for a $2.4 billion increase in U.S. funding for Africa. The president agreed, but now the bill must get through Congress.

Data also lobbies the governments of wealthy nations to forgive Africa's debts. According to the group, countries in sub-Saharan Africa (the are south of the Sahara Desert, and the poorest region of the world) spend $14.5 billion a year repaying old debts to wealthy nations. That's money that could go to healthcare and education, says Bono.

Bono says the problems in Africa must be solved. This generation, he said, will be judged by how it "stood around with watering cans and watched while a whole confluent burst into flames. Or not."