Bob Geldof in Ethiopia

by nolympics Sun Jun 01, 2003 04:38

bush's billions for aids in africa are specifically for treatment (read pharmaceutical companies) rather than for prevention (read sex education, family planning, contraception etc). geldof and bono are very good at appealing to elites and those who manage catastrophe, but they fear and loathe (remember genoa) social movements and change from below. they are both activists for the ruling class and studiously contain their 'activism' within the washington consensus.

by nolympics Sun Jun 01, 2003 04:33

bush's billions for aids in africa are specifically for treatment (read pharmaceutical companies) rather than for prevention (read sex education, family planning, contraception etc). geldof and bono are very good at appealing to elites and those who manage catastrophe, but they fear and loathe (remember genoa) social movements and change from below. they are both activists for the ruling class and studiously contain their 'activism' within the washington consensus.

by Anonymous Fri May 30, 2003 10:06

They are well capable of getting their "act" together, if the West would just fuck off and stop plundering and exploiting that continent as it has done for centuries - and then start making proper reparations for this centuries long plundering.

by caspian Fri May 30, 2003 01:29

Has that bloke washed his hair yet? Is he trying to revive his rock career again?
Like the previous poster acknowledged, Africa is a bottomless pit for aid. The whole continent needs to be re-colonised or at least administered by the United Nations. They are not capable of getting their act together.

by Aunt Jemima Thu May 29, 2003 23:08

Since all the copies of the grauniad and the independent were gone from safeway this evening, i wound up picking up a copy of the times.

It's always interesting to see if there's any of it i can agree with. One piece that caught my attention was this penetrating commentary on the latest geldoff gesture.

<article>
May 29, 2003

*'Band Aid' was about right: aid can only be a sticking plaster on a gaping wound*

Camilla Cavendish

How the rainbow citizens of the World Bank must have chuckled, their noses deep in the skinny lattes of their in-house cappuccino bars, when Bob Geldof praised George Bush for throwing more dollars at Africa. Geldof’s strategy is a shrewd one: praise the hand that feeds the world, and more cash should follow. If he keeps this up, there will be more jobs for the boys in corrupt African regimes and more jobs —gilded with nationality quotas and PhD thresholds — for the boys and girls in the World Bank.

I once worked at the World Bank, and I think that Geldof of all people should recognise the Rat Trap. African regimes have been demanding money with moral menaces ever since foreign aid became a multigazillion-dollar industry. It is intolerable to ignore the terrible plight of the people in Ethiopia, who are once again facing possible famine. Yet all too often, well-meaning people become accomplices in a cruel charade. When Geldof invented “Band Aid”, he seemed to be acknowledging that aid can only ever be a temporary sticking-plaster on a gaping wound in countries whose governments prefer to keep their people poor. But now he is talking of a Marshall Plan for Africa, he needs to ask why 40 years of aid for Africa have achieved virtually nothing.

Many of the most corrupt African regimes are kept in power by aid. Most have destroyed their economies, and revenue from taxation is therefore negligible, so aid and crime keep them in the luxury to which they and their cronies have become all too accustomed. Some are ruthless in exploiting even emergency food aid. Soon after Geldof first highlighted the plight of Ethiopia in 1985, people in Uganda and Tanzania saw emergency shipments of yellow corn, that had been destined for Ethiopia, being sold in their streets. This not only deprived Ethiopians of desperately needed food, but also hurt farmers in the adjacent countries by depressing the price of their own maize.

[…]
</article>

by I Thu May 29, 2003 22:52

I respect Bob Geldof, very much, so he says it's good that Bush (who I don't respect) is donating money. He's right. It is good. Although I reckon Bush and his friends are only joking.

by Anonymous Thu May 29, 2003 13:41

From: http://www.bobgeldof.info/

UNICEF takes Bob Geldof back to Ethiopia
Monday, 26 May 2003, 1:47 pm
Press Release: UNICEF

Twenty years later, UNICEF takes Bob Geldof back to Ethiopia

Ethiopia is in the midst of a severe humanitarian emergency that is threatening some 14 million people, most of them children. Drought, flood, malnutrition, disease among children and HIV/AIDS are all part of the complex crisis. Ethiopia is also one of the five poorest countries in the world, with an estimated gross national income of just $100 a year per person. The five-day UNICEF visit will begin in Addis Ababa on Tuesday 27 May. Geldof will see firsthand the challenges the country faces today, 20 years after he first visited Ethiopia and launched a world-wide campaign to save the East African nation from famine.

Geldof's visit, facilitated by the UNICEF office in Ethiopia, will enable him to witness the current humanitarian crisis and explore the longer-term development challenges that are compounded by debt and trade disadvantages. He will visit UNICEF relief projects for children, speak with government officials and members of the diplomatic community, and meet with other key humanitarian players.

"What we have here is a much more complex emergency than the drought crisis of twenty years ago," said Bjorn Ljungqvuist, UNICEF Representative in Ethiopia. "This time it is compounded by HIV/AIDS, which has weakened medical systems and coping ability at the family level. UNICEF is grateful for Bob Geldof's visit right now because it will help draw global attention to the new mix of challenges we must overcome to build a more peaceful, stable world - a world that is truly fit for children." UNICEF said that one out of two children in Ethiopia suffers from chronic stunting, and many children die from preventable diseases. The visit will include stops at UNICEF-supported therapeutic feeding centres in the south of the country and focus not only on immediate needs but on the longer-term solutions needed. Mr. Geldof will also visit water projects and AIDS counselling centres for youth, where he will meet with the young Ethiopians at the forefront of tackling HIV.

All media are welcome to attend a press conference with Sir Bob Geldof and Bjorn Ljungqvist, UNICEF Representative, at 4pm on Tuesday 27 May in briefing room N122 at the ECA in Addis Ababa.

Geldof to return to Ethiopia
From correspondents in London

LIVE Aid organiser Bob Geldof is returning to Ethiopia this month for the first time since coordinating the massive fundraising concerts for the famine-stricken nation.

Geldof raised more than £100 million in 1984 and 1985 with the Band Aid and Live Aid projects, which inspired millions of people around the world to help the starving.

The veteran rock star will begin his first visit to the African nation since 1984 on May 26, accompanied by representatives of UNICEF and DATA, the international organisation to alleviate third world debt.

His week-long trip is timed to precede the G8 Summit at Evian, France, to stimulate public interest.

"He wants to highlight the issues the G8 Summit should be looking at - food shortages, AIDS, trade issues and, of course, water pollution," a spokesman told the Evening Standard.

"It's difficult to say he is looking forward to going back because he knows the grim sights he will come across.

"What he wants to find out is how much progress has been made in the past 20 years and what the continuing obstacles are, and who's to blame."

by $*$ Thu May 29, 2003 13:18

So there are no strings attached to the $15bn donation? that is great!

by Ernie Lynch Thu May 29, 2003 10:57

This is just creative accounting by the US admin. So 3 billion will be 'donated' annually meanwhile the 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa spend approximately $13.5 billion every year repaying debts to rich foreign creditors for past loans of questionable legitimacy. Don't give up the day job Bob (ehhhhhhhhh on second thoughts.......)

by Anonymous Thu May 29, 2003 10:13

I hope all the same national and international passion, amazing efforts, time and dedication that was put into the anti-war campaign will be put into fighting Aids, Debt, and Terms of Trade that are crippling the Third World and killing people in their millions and millions.

by MG Thu May 29, 2003 10:01

The $15bn funding you're talking about will be spread over the next five years (i.e. $3bn per year on average). Nobody seems to have mentioned this fact. That said, it is still a lot of money.

by Yossarian Thu May 29, 2003 09:58

Sure, $15 billion over five years would be welcomed by anyone. It is far from making the Bush administration one of Africa's best friends, as Geldof (G8 hugging tool) allegedly says. It would be good to see the detail of the scheme to see how it is distributed i.e. how much goes to American companies, PR, etc

by Irish American Wed May 28, 2003 20:40

For a comparison, the total budget of the Irish state is 32 billion euro, or $37.6 billion.

http://www.budget.gov.ie/budget/budget2003/Bud_2003.pdf

by Raymond McInerney Wed May 28, 2003 19:53

In 2002, UNAids calculated that $10 billion should be spent each year in less-developed countries to produce even an "adequate" response to HIV.

Even with the Bush billions, the total falls well short of this.

Dr Peter Piot, the executive director of UNAids, said: "There is still a long way to go.

"Aids will only be defeated when responsibility for addressing it is fully shared - with every nation working to meet the financial and leadership challenges presented by this global epidemic."