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Bono: World AIDS Day 2002, Part 1
U2's front man, Bono, talked to One Life for this year's World AIDS Day, which is held on 1st December every year, worldwide. Bono's campaign for greater AIDS awareness is all year round - find out why in our interview below.
One Life: Why did you get involved with the campaign to highlight HIV/AIDS?
Listen to Bono's reply (1 Min 42 Secs) or read below!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/media/g2/essentials/health/sex/bono_involved.ram
I've been involved in African issues for a long time, going back to Feed the World, and Live Aid - we raised a lot of money with Live Aid. The famine in Ethiopia was an extraordinary thing to witness first hand. I worked in a camp there in the mid '80s and saw what famine can do.
The AIDS emergency is dwarfing any of the famines that are raising their head again. The problem with AIDS is that it sets back all the work you do in the area of development in these countries. If you care about Africa - this incredible continent, with such rare beauty and rare spirited people, you have to deal with the problem of AIDS - there's no way round it.
When the history of our time is written, there'll probably be three things that come out of it - the internet, this war against terror, and the fact that an entire continent burst into flames while we all stood around with watering cans. You cannot ignore the AIDS emergency - if we do it will be at our peril, economically, in terms of stability and this problem will come home to visit us.
One Life: Why is it difficult to get people to take AIDS seriously in Africa?
Listen to Bono's reply (1 Min 12 Secs) or read below!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/media/g2/essentials/health/sex/bono_africa.ram
In Southern and South Africa you have a few difficulties getting people to admit they have a problem. [Politicians] fear there'll be a loss of investment [in the economy] and sometimes they have religious difficulties. Also they don't have the resources to deal with the problem if people admit to it, so it's doubly hard. AIDS is not a death sentence in the UK. We have drugs.
The politicians also tell us it's too difficult to get these drugs to everywhere in Africa, yet we can get cold, fizzy drinks!
The drug regimens necessary to deal with AIDS are a lot simpler now. And if the political will is there, and the cash is there, we can get them to the people in Africa. That will encourage Africans to come out more and accept that they have a problem.
One Life: How important do you think stigma or prejudice is in the fight against HIV and AIDS?
Listen to Bono's reply (1 Min 40 Secs) or read below!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/media/g2/essentials/health/sex/bono_prejudice.ram
You have the problem of stigmatisation. If people don't want to admit to having it, what's the point in admitting that you have it if you can't get drugs to keep it at bay? If you don't admit to having it and you're not having the right advice about how to deal with your situation the disease spreads. This is why it's really important that we deal with the situation the right way.
I met a king from the Ashanti region in Ghana - I was making a speech in the town hall. The king arrived, and everyone was honoured that he was there. He told the assembled people that he can just taken an HIV test, and that he was worried himself that he might have the disease. He felt that this was his greatest contribution - to bring it out in the open and say this is a problem we're all having, so let's get tested. This job of dealing with the stigmatisation of the disease would be a lot easier if we could get treatment for people once they come out and admit they have it.
One Life: How can we help in the fight to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS?
Listen to Bono's reply (2 Min 07 Secs) or read below!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/media/g2/essentials/health/sex/bono_prevention.ram
is worth remembering that [HIV/AIDS] is a disease you don't have to catch. Prevention really works and it's a smart use of money. You have to have prevention and treatment. Just delaying the age of sexual activity - that really, really helps. In South Africa they're noticing a decrease in numbers in young people they're getting the message of prevention out. It's very important to get more involvment from role models to talk about it in Africa - musicians in Africa, sports people.
This particular World AIDS Day is crucial. If countries get to grip with their problems early on, they won't end up like Botswana or Uganda, where 20% of their urban population is HIV and sometimes more.
Imagine walking through Piccadilly Circus [in London] and the crowds of people and thinking that nearly a third of the people in this square have a death sentence on their heads - that's what it's like in some of the urban places in Africa.
It grows out of control quickly, so you've got to get there sooner rather than later.
One Life: What is being achieved at the moment to raise AIDS awareness?
Listen to Bono's reply (2 Min 49 Secs) or read below!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/media/g2/essentials/health/sex/bono_stopaids.ram
There's an amazing campaign going on in the UK the Stop AIDS campaign and they're asking Tony Blair for $1 billion - they're a coalition of all sorts of groups - Save the Children, Oxfam etc. Their line is that the world can afford to stop AIDS, but the world cannot afford not to. Right now there's talk of war on Iraq - it's crucial that the UK and US are reaching out to Africa - Africa's 40% Muslim. The War Against Terror is actually bound up in the war against poverty - Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State said that.
All the military men know you can't win this war by military means alone. Anyone who's concerned, not just for what's going on in Africa, but for what's happening [worldwide] and for the instability that we see in the news, should be involved in this. It's an opportunity to show off the innovations of the pharmaceuticals in the UK and US - to show their creativity. These drugs should be advertisements for what we can do in the West.
It's not just hearts and minds. If you're saving lives, the life of a child, of a woman's husband, of her children, of herself, there's no chance for extremist groups to be given sanctuary in a community where this is happening - that's a fact of life - it's cheap at the price really. As expensive as it is to tackle this problem, it is much more expensive to deal with the instability in the world, where if we're honest, the West is not seen as a particularly beneficial force in the developing world - that's just a hard fact.
Read on to find out about Bono's recent experiences in Africa, how debt is adding to the problem of the AIDS emergency, and the ways that he suggests you can help stop the spread of HIV and AIDS:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onelife/health/sex/bono_aids.shtml
***You will need RealPlayer to listen.****
Bono: World AIDS Day 2002, Part 1
U2's front man, Bono, talked to One Life for this year's World AIDS Day, which is held on 1st December every year, worldwide. Bono's campaign for greater AIDS awareness is all year round - find out why in our interview below.
One Life: Why did you get involved with the campaign to highlight HIV/AIDS?
Listen to Bono's reply (1 Min 42 Secs) or read below!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/media/g2/essentials/health/sex/bono_involved.ram
I've been involved in African issues for a long time, going back to Feed the World, and Live Aid - we raised a lot of money with Live Aid. The famine in Ethiopia was an extraordinary thing to witness first hand. I worked in a camp there in the mid '80s and saw what famine can do.
The AIDS emergency is dwarfing any of the famines that are raising their head again. The problem with AIDS is that it sets back all the work you do in the area of development in these countries. If you care about Africa - this incredible continent, with such rare beauty and rare spirited people, you have to deal with the problem of AIDS - there's no way round it.
When the history of our time is written, there'll probably be three things that come out of it - the internet, this war against terror, and the fact that an entire continent burst into flames while we all stood around with watering cans. You cannot ignore the AIDS emergency - if we do it will be at our peril, economically, in terms of stability and this problem will come home to visit us.
One Life: Why is it difficult to get people to take AIDS seriously in Africa?
Listen to Bono's reply (1 Min 12 Secs) or read below!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/media/g2/essentials/health/sex/bono_africa.ram
In Southern and South Africa you have a few difficulties getting people to admit they have a problem. [Politicians] fear there'll be a loss of investment [in the economy] and sometimes they have religious difficulties. Also they don't have the resources to deal with the problem if people admit to it, so it's doubly hard. AIDS is not a death sentence in the UK. We have drugs.
The politicians also tell us it's too difficult to get these drugs to everywhere in Africa, yet we can get cold, fizzy drinks!
The drug regimens necessary to deal with AIDS are a lot simpler now. And if the political will is there, and the cash is there, we can get them to the people in Africa. That will encourage Africans to come out more and accept that they have a problem.
One Life: How important do you think stigma or prejudice is in the fight against HIV and AIDS?
Listen to Bono's reply (1 Min 40 Secs) or read below!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/media/g2/essentials/health/sex/bono_prejudice.ram
You have the problem of stigmatisation. If people don't want to admit to having it, what's the point in admitting that you have it if you can't get drugs to keep it at bay? If you don't admit to having it and you're not having the right advice about how to deal with your situation the disease spreads. This is why it's really important that we deal with the situation the right way.
I met a king from the Ashanti region in Ghana - I was making a speech in the town hall. The king arrived, and everyone was honoured that he was there. He told the assembled people that he can just taken an HIV test, and that he was worried himself that he might have the disease. He felt that this was his greatest contribution - to bring it out in the open and say this is a problem we're all having, so let's get tested. This job of dealing with the stigmatisation of the disease would be a lot easier if we could get treatment for people once they come out and admit they have it.
One Life: How can we help in the fight to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS?
Listen to Bono's reply (2 Min 07 Secs) or read below!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/media/g2/essentials/health/sex/bono_prevention.ram
is worth remembering that [HIV/AIDS] is a disease you don't have to catch. Prevention really works and it's a smart use of money. You have to have prevention and treatment. Just delaying the age of sexual activity - that really, really helps. In South Africa they're noticing a decrease in numbers in young people they're getting the message of prevention out. It's very important to get more involvment from role models to talk about it in Africa - musicians in Africa, sports people.
This particular World AIDS Day is crucial. If countries get to grip with their problems early on, they won't end up like Botswana or Uganda, where 20% of their urban population is HIV and sometimes more.
Imagine walking through Piccadilly Circus [in London] and the crowds of people and thinking that nearly a third of the people in this square have a death sentence on their heads - that's what it's like in some of the urban places in Africa.
It grows out of control quickly, so you've got to get there sooner rather than later.
One Life: What is being achieved at the moment to raise AIDS awareness?
Listen to Bono's reply (2 Min 49 Secs) or read below!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/media/g2/essentials/health/sex/bono_stopaids.ram
There's an amazing campaign going on in the UK the Stop AIDS campaign and they're asking Tony Blair for $1 billion - they're a coalition of all sorts of groups - Save the Children, Oxfam etc. Their line is that the world can afford to stop AIDS, but the world cannot afford not to. Right now there's talk of war on Iraq - it's crucial that the UK and US are reaching out to Africa - Africa's 40% Muslim. The War Against Terror is actually bound up in the war against poverty - Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State said that.
All the military men know you can't win this war by military means alone. Anyone who's concerned, not just for what's going on in Africa, but for what's happening [worldwide] and for the instability that we see in the news, should be involved in this. It's an opportunity to show off the innovations of the pharmaceuticals in the UK and US - to show their creativity. These drugs should be advertisements for what we can do in the West.
It's not just hearts and minds. If you're saving lives, the life of a child, of a woman's husband, of her children, of herself, there's no chance for extremist groups to be given sanctuary in a community where this is happening - that's a fact of life - it's cheap at the price really. As expensive as it is to tackle this problem, it is much more expensive to deal with the instability in the world, where if we're honest, the West is not seen as a particularly beneficial force in the developing world - that's just a hard fact.
Read on to find out about Bono's recent experiences in Africa, how debt is adding to the problem of the AIDS emergency, and the ways that he suggests you can help stop the spread of HIV and AIDS:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onelife/health/sex/bono_aids.shtml
***You will need RealPlayer to listen.****
