You can watch the interview in 2 parts here:

Note that the event starts at 16:20:

In addition, here’s a recap of our World AIDS Day conversation on social media:

Drawing on personal experiences of what he has witnessed over the past 10 years, he led a discussion about what politicians, businesses and ordinary people alike have done to provide treatment that has saved millions of lives.

Bono focused particularly on what American has done to lead the long fight against the virus when he said, “How did we get here? America led. I mean really led.”

Speaking poignantly to just how far we’ve come in the battle to stop HIV in its tracks, he wrote:

“Yet today, here we are, talking seriously about the ‘end’ of this global epidemic. There are now 6.6 million people on life-saving AIDS medicine. But still too many are being infected. New research proves that early antiretroviral treatment, especially for pregnant women, in combination with male circumcision, will slash the rate of new H.I.V. cases by up to 60 percent. This is the tipping point we have been campaigning for. We’re nearly there.”

He continued with a special thanks to the bipartisan efforts shown by congressmen, presidents –- including PEPFAR founder President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama — media organizations and people around the world who have joined together to call for the end of AIDS for good.

And finally, Bono ended with a call to action. Declaring that the total defeat of HIV is as great a feat as the first landing on the moon, he said.

“America’s boldest leap of faith is worth recalling. And the thing is, as I see it, the Eagle hasn’t landed yet. Budget cuts … partisan divisions … these put the outcome in jeopardy just as the science falls into place. To get this far and not plant your flag would be one of the greatest accidental evils of this recession.”

Find the full article on the New York Times website here.

While underlining the severity of the current economic crisis, Bono made the case that even in these difficult times, investing in effective programs that are saving millions of lives is not just the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do in an increasingly globalized world.

He highlighted the importance of the French government continuing its support for effective programs that are fighting extreme poverty in Africa and crises such as the current famine in Somalia, saying, “It is not normal to have a famine …We should be able to prevent a drought from systematically becoming a famine.”

The French have been leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS as seen by their continued support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, and they are in a unique position to forge stronger links with Africa in the future as a trading and economic partner. And aid is making a difference: 4 million Africans have benefited from AIDS treatment since 2002.

When asked about his own political influence with heads of state during an interview with the French TV show “Le Grand Journal” on Canal+, Bono stressed that much of the power comes from his audience, many of whom are voting age, including U2 fans, and ONE campaigners. “It’s not me the politicians fear, it’s the audience,” he said, urging individuals to mobilize and keep pressure on their governments to ensure that the world’s poorest are not forgotten, even in these tough times.

At the upcoming G20 in Cannes, ONE will be calling upon global leaders to support innovative finance mechanisms for development, to prevent future food crises by smart investments in agriculture and to take concrete actions in order to improve infrastructure in Africa. Please add your voice to our petition and ensure that world leaders break the cycle of famine.

I’ve been known to drop the occasional expletive, but the most offensive F word to me is not the one that goes f***. It’s F***** — the famine happening in Somalia.

Drought, violence and political instability have invited in the grim reaper on a scale we have not seen in 20 years… more than 30,000 children have died in just three months. The pictures from Dadaab look like a nightmare from centuries past. Yet, this is the 21st century and these pictures are real and, on the whole, unseen. The food crisis in the Horn of Africa is nothing short of a humanitarian catastrophe, but it is getting less attention than the latest Hollywood break-ups and make-ups.

ONE’s new film “The F Word: Famine is the Real Obscenity” isn’t a typical emotional emergency appeal. It’s about focusing the media spotlight on the tragedy unfolding. It’s about building political support in the US and around the world for interventions that will stop the suffering today and break the cycle of famine in the future. Most of all, it’s about taking action — because famine is man-made.

Of course it’s complex, and solutions are difficult — especially in Somalia where there has not been a formal government for 20 years. But that is not an excuse for the world to look the other way. Most of us (thankfully) have no experience of starvation, but we do know what it’s like to lose someone you love. Each of those 30,000 children was someone’s daughter or son, someone’s sister or brother. If you look at reports from the Horn, there are stories of mothers having to decide which child to feed and which to let die; women leaving their children’s bodies on the side of the road as they walk for weeks in search of food and water for those still fighting for life.

History shows there are ways to prevent drought from becoming famine, even though it’s complicated. So check out the film and sign ONE’s petition to world leaders calling on them to live up to promises already made to invest in things proven to work… early warning systems… irrigation… drought resistant seeds… and of course, peace and security. At ONE.org there’s more explanation and information. And while ONE doesn’t solicit funding, if you want to give money, you can find links to other organizations providing emergency assistance in the Horn who need all the support they can get.

This article first appeared on the The Huffington Post

Anderson and Sanjay Gupta have been reporting from Dadaab and Mogadishu this week, bringing forth heart-breaking stories of the tens of thousands of children who have already died as a result of the famine, with 600,000 more at imminent risk. The world is not responding fast enough to this crisis. There is still a $1 billion funding gap that must be met or millions more could die.

As Bono and K’naan said last night to Anderson:

Bono: “It’s hard to believe that this is the 21st century and you know we mustn’t let the complexity of the situation absolve us from responsibility to act. That’s really the message … When you hear stories, and as you’ve reported, of women leaving their dead children on the road to come beg for food, to choose between children, can you imagine? ‘I have to leave this one, he looks the weakest or she looks the weakest, I’ll take this one.’ This is outrageous! This can’t be happening, it must be stopped. And it’s not our intentions, it’s our actions. It’s not the possibilities of the United Nations or the AU, it’s our priorities that define us. This is a defining moment.”

K’naan: “I think people have created a psychological fence around their hearts where Somalia is concerned. We have to find a way to get past that, and look at the humanity of what is happening and help people who are in need of our help at this moment. We are not usually the sort of people who take the victim’s seat. We are people who stand up for ourselves. But it’s a very, very dire, dire situation.”

To see the entire interview, go to our Act Now page or click on the video above. And please sign ONE’s petition asking world leaders to respond to the crisis now.

Students from the University of Florida

The students from the University of Michigan and the University of Florida who participated in the grand prize for the ONE Campus Challenge (OCC) are home now after three exciting days that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

After flying in from all around the country we jumped straight into discussions about the new and improved direction of OCC. Our main goal was to determine how to make recruitment on college campuses most successful and we came to the conclusion that it requires the perfect balance between education and advocacy. Among the things discussed was how to strike a good balance between raising awareness and real advocacy, and how to utilize social media to mobilize the student population.

Students from the University of Michigan with Bono

After a couple of days in DC, we took a train to Philadelphia for the U2 concert and a very unique experience: a quick meeting with Bono himself. After sharing some of our accomplishments and campaigning success with Bono, we were able to snap a photo with each campus group. Our conversation was very inspiring — Bono spoke about Living Proof and the positive results US investments are having in Africa. He also stressed the importance of being creative and having fun while making a difference.

The real reward was watching him convey those same ideas to the crowd in Philly. As ONE leaders, we know how difficult it is to convince people that fighting poverty is a cause worth joining — but being in the audience as he promoted our cause and inspired an entire stadium of people was exhilarating. At the end of the concert, Bono publicly thanked the University of Florida and the University of Michigan for our on-campus work -– but we know now, more than ever, that our hard work has just begun.

This trip was nothing short of amazing, and it made us even more excited to jump into the next season of OCC when we get back in the fall!

-Taylor Parker, University of Florida, and Lesley Kucharski, University of Michigan

P.S. Want to get involved with next year’s ONE Campus Challenge? Sign up to become a leader!

The lack of food and water in Somalia, brought on by the worst drought in 60 years and exacerbated by the lack of any governing structure following decades of conflict, has caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee the country, often on foot. Families are walking for days to reach refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, with thousands dying along the way. The group called for swift action from world leaders at an emergency UN meeting in Rome on Monday.

After the meeting, Bono said: “The crisis in the Horn is going to be solved by Somalis taking control, taking charge. I’m here, and ONE is here, to listen and learn and to serve their efforts. We’re here to sound the alarm bell in the United States, where there has been very little media coverage of the food crisis — and now a famine which is threatening the lives and livelihoods of 12 million. This is monstrous. Pay close attention, this is a defining moment for the world. History will be very harsh if we don’t move quickly. There is a crisis summit on Monday in Rome. World leaders in the region and around the globe must step in and do their part to address the immediate crisis, and to invest in long-term agriculture development so we can finally stop the cycle of famine on the continent.”

K’naan also commented: “I am deeply saddened by what’s happening in my country, and in the region in general. But at the moment I am also incredibly energized by a new sense of optimism. We are seeing a new generation of young leaders who will not take the victim’s seat, but who instead stand proudly with an activated devotion to help their own. This is not the famine of old, this time, we will do the rescuing, but we cannot do it alone and are counting on the support of our brothers and sisters who are in the position to assist us. Think of this as an opportunity to fertilize a new African legacy. Let us together remove the psychological fence surrounding the hearts of the world. This is as important as life itself.”

Joining Bono and K’naan in the meeting were Mohammed Idris, Executive Director of the American Relief Agency for the Horn of Africa (ADRHA), Daniel Wordsworth, President and CEO of the American Refugee Committee, and 3 young Somali Minnesotans who are active in relief efforts to address the crisis: Ruqia Mohamed, Shukri Abdinur and Mohamed Samatar.

Speaking about the situation on the ground in Somalia, Mohammed Idris, said: “What we are seeing right now in the horn of Africa is devastating. Crops are failing. Families have lost their livelihoods as their livestock perished. And worst of all they have lost their loved ones. Every day, lives are needlessly lost. We are on the ground in Mogadishu and our team is working tireless to get people the food they need.”

After the meeting, during U2’s performance in Minneapolis, Bono and K’naan performed a duet of “Stand by Me” in solidarity with the people of Somalia. Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota are home to the largest concentration of Somalis in the United States.

ONE is calling on world leaders to do two things in the face of this emergency:

1. Take immediate action to address the current humanitarian crisis by filling a $1 billion funding gap that will allow the U.N. and charitable organizations on the ground to run the refugee camps, stop disease outbreaks and secure routes that will ensure the safe delivery of food aid. The UN currently has only half of the funding needed to address the crisis and prevent it from spreading.
2. Invest in smart, effective agriculture policies, such as the U.S. Administration’s Feed the Future initiative. These programs will help empower African farmers with technical knowledge about seed varietals, farming techniques and disaster planning for natural shocks that will help prevent famine in the future and increase agricultural productivity, which will spur economic growth and reduce endemic poverty.

See ONE’s press release on the meeting here and learn more about the unfolding crisis here.

Photo by Eoin McLoughlin: U2 lead singer and ONE cofounder Bono and K’naan, the Somali-born singer and poet, meet with Somali Minnesotans in Minneapolis last night to discuss efforts to combat the famine in Somali. Left to right are Mohamed Samatar, Shukri Abdinur, Bono, K’naan, and Ruqia Mohamed.

Bono explained that an issue as critical as HIV/AIDS is something that unifies both the left and right. He lauded President Bush’s leadership and the work of ONE in an HIV/AIDS campaign that saved five million lives over the past eight years. And he described Africa as “the continent of the future,” citing that by 2050, Africa will be the largest and youngest continent on the planet.

Watch the full Letterman episode (scroll to 19:15) for an extended version of the interview.