April 4, 2008:

U2's Bono linked with Derry civil rights concert
Friday, April 04, 2008

By Gary Fennelly

A concert planned to be held in Derry later this year as part of the civil rights commemorations could attract some of the biggest names in the music industry including U2 frontman Bono.

The concert, to be held in November, is being organised by the Civil Rights 1968 Commemoration Committee. Organisers said they are unable to confirm who is performing at the concert.

However rumours are beginning to circulate linking humanitarian rocker, Bono, to the show. The U2 lead singer has spoken in the past about his admiration for Martin Luther King, one of the founders of the American civil rights movement which was a major influence on the civil rights campaign.

The gig is part of a series of events throughout Ireland and Britain announced by the Civil Rights 1968 Commemoration Committee and includes conferences, lectures and a summer school.

The organisers say it is important to remember the events of 1968 in a "sober and reflective way".

"The things that happened during that pivotal year had a profound effect upon our society, and precipitated an avalanche of change which left no part of our community untouched," the group said.

They said they will "seek to learn from what happened, to consider the significance of the Civil Rights Movement for our society today and the continuing resonance of the issues which it addressed, and the ideals which underpinned it".

The programme includes a lecture in Magee University next month featuring top academics. It will be chaired by Nobel Laureate John Hume and speakers will include Lord Paul Bew, a Professor at Queen's University, Belfast, and Paul Arthur, a Professor at the University of Ulster. The lecture will be held on April 15 at Magee.

Denis Haughey, chair of the committee, said: “The civil rights movement here modelled itself very much on the civil rights movement in the United States.

“Those of us who were involved in the civil rights movement were hugely impressed and hugely struck by the dignity and courage, the integrity of purpose and the non-violence of the United States movement.

“That motivated us to take the same approach and put the spotlight of publicity on the injustices we saw around us here and it was our intention to generate peaceful pressure on the authorities here and in London to take responsibility in their hands and deal with the injustices over jobs, housing and electoral matters.

“At that time a lot of very ordinary people showed a lot of extraordinary courage in peacefully confronting and challenging injustices and showed change could be brought about by peaceful means.

“Unfortunately the potential of creating a normal democratic process of gradual and peaceful change was lost in the tragic events which followed but it is important to reflect and learn from these events as we work to create a stable democratic society today.”

An international civil rights conference will take place in Derry on October 4th to commemorate the Duke Street march in the city.

belfasttelegraph

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HIV/AIDS: Lesotho gets 'Bono-Bobby' funds
Written by Henry Neondo
Friday, 04 April 2008
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced Thursday that Lesotho has become the fourth country to receive funds from (PRODUCT) RED, joining Rwanda, Swaziland, and Ghana in the Global Fund-(RED) portfolio.

(RED) was launched in 2006 by Bono and Bobby Shriver to engage business in the global fight against AIDS in Africa. (PRODUCT) RED has become one of the largest consumer-based income-generating initiatives by the private sector for an international humanitarian cause.

As the Global Fund looks to existing and new donors to finance programs globally to fight AIDS, TB and malaria, (PRODUCT) RED has become a significant new source of funds.

“In generating more than US$ 100 million for the Global Fund so far, (RED) has rapidly proved to be an effective and innovative source of private sector financing in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa,” said the Global Fund’s Executive Director, Dr Michel Kazatchkine.

“We are delighted to announce the addition of Lesotho to the three countries already receiving (RED) funds. With one in four people in Lesotho infected by HIV, this country’s fight against AIDS is a fight for survival. The Global Fund-supported program is contributing to stemming the growth of AIDS in Lesotho and ensuring treatment and care for thousands of people living with the disease.”

The Global Fund selects programs for (RED) investment based on their proven track record, ambitious targets and the countries’ undisputed need.

The Global Fund-(RED) supported program in Lesotho is implemented by the Lesotho Ministry of Finance and helps fund in-country services including: Antiretroviral therapy for AIDS patients, Prevention of mother-to-child transmission and community home-based care for people living with HIV. Further, the programme will help counseling and testing for HIV and basic care for orphans and vulnerable children.

One hundred percent of the (RED) money received by the Global Fund flows to Global Fund-financed programs, as regularly scheduled disbursements. So far US$ 57 million has been disbursed to the programs in the Global Fund-(RED) portfolio. Through these programs, (RED) funding has reached over 1.3 million people.

The Global Fund is a unique global public/private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases.

Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has become the dominant financer of programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, with approved funding of US$ 10.1 billion for more than 550 programs in 136 countries.

To date, programs supported by the Global Fund have averted two million deaths through providing AIDS treatment for 1.4 million people, anti-tuberculosis treatment for 3.3 million people and the distribution of 46 million insecticide-treated bed nets for the prevention of malaria.

The Global Fund provides more than 20 percent of international funding to fight AIDS, as well as two-thirds of international funding to fight malaria and tuberculosis, and aims to raise US $6 billion to US $8 billion annually to sustain and increase this level of funding.

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