About

ONE’s History

How Our Movement Began

In the 1980s, Bono and U2 performed at the Live Aid concerts in London and Philadelphia, organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in response to a devastating famine in Ethiopia. The concerts, along with singles like “We Are the World” and “Band Aid,” raised more than $125 million for famine relief and brought global attention to the crisis. Bono and his wife Ali then volunteered in Ajibar, Ethiopia.

Around this time, artists, activists, and people around the world mobilized in support of the anti-apartheid movement, through student protests, faith-based organizing, and advocacy inspired by leaders like Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Bono participated in the “Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City” campaign, which brought together over 50 artists—collectively named Artists United Against Apartheid—to protest Apartheid in South Africa.

Jubilee 2000 and the ‘Drop the Debt’ Movement

In the early 1990s, a global faith-based movement called for the cancellation of unpayable debts owed by the world’s lowest-income countries, spurred by the success of the anti-apartheid movement. Leaders including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Pope John Paul II called for the cancellation of unpayable debts. They invoked the biblical concept of a “Jubilee year” — a time to reset. This movement became Jubilee 2000, a global coalition of organizations, theologians, and activists calling on high-income countries to cancel unfair debts.

In 1995, Jamie Drummond was in Ethiopia working on a BBC and MTV project marking the 10th anniversary of Live Aid. There, he learned that Ethiopia was repaying more in annual debt than the total raised by Live Aid, Band Aid, and “We Are the World” combined. He coined the phrase “Drop the Debt” and shared this message with global figures including Bono, David Bowie, and Muhammad Ali.

When Bono learned that African countries were paying roughly $200 million each week in debt repayments, he vowed to learn more about the structural causes of extreme poverty. Bono, alongside Bobby Shriver, met with economists, politicians, and religious leaders to build momentum and influence world leaders directly.

This direct advocacy was combined with public activism. Protesters gathered at the G8 summits in Birmingham (1998) and in Cologne (1999) to call for debt cancellation – with Bono, Bob Geldof, Senegalese artist Youssou N’dour, and more helping draw global action. Jubilee 2000 still holds the world record for the most signatures: over 24 million from 166 countries.

Jubilee 2000 and the “Drop the Debt” campaign worked: $110 billion in debt was cancelled between 2000 and 2005. The impact? Increased economic growth, improved investments in health, and millions more children in school.

A New Model for Advocacy is Born

Bono later described Jubilee 2000 as a journey “from charity to justice.”

But health inequities and structural barriers threatened progress. HIV/AIDS was devastating communities across sub-Saharan Africa, with life-saving medicines largely inaccessible. And structural barriers like unfair trade rules limited long-term economic independence.

In response, Bono, Bobby Shriver, Jamie Drummond, and Lucy Matthew built a new kind of organization: one that combined policy expertise with public advocacy to address systemic causes of inequality.

In 2002, they launched DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) — a policy-focused organization designed to turn research into political action. In 2004, DATA helped co-found and later merged with the ONE Campaign.

ONE worked to mobilize citizens to influence governments, bringing together public pressure (“outside organizing”) and direct engagement with policymakers (“inside influencing”) to drive change across multiple countries at once. In partnership with organizations advancing transparency, fighting corruption, and promoting a “data revolution” ONE helped citizens hold governments accountable.

ONE has always been strictly nonpartisan.

At ONE, we believe that politicians don’t have to agree on everything—they can agree on just one thing, if that one thing is important enough.” – Bono

(RED) is created

While ONE focused on influencing government policy and public investment, another gap remained: private sector engagement. Governments and advocates were unhappy with the lack of private sector contribution.

In response, Bono and Bobby Shriver launched (RED) in 2006 to bring major global brands — such as Apple, Bank of America, and later Fiat — into the fight for global health. (RED) raises money and awareness for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria – which was created in 2002 as a public-private venture.

Now in its second decade of impact, (RED) has generated more than $800 million for the Global Fund, while ONE has helped secure $60–80 billion in public sector funding for the same cause.

ONE’s Impact: 20 years of effective advocacy

Since 2004, ONE has helped secure over $1 trillion in new investments for economic opportunities and healthy lives that build a safer, more prosperous world. Our advocates have taken over 25 million actions to create more economic opportunities and support programs that have saved millions of lives from preventable diseases like HIV/AIDS. ONE played a key role in the success of major programs including PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief), the Global Fund, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. And ONE successfully pushed for Africa’s fair seat at the global decision-making table.

ONE’s Work Today

ONE’s strategy continues to evolve in response to today’s global challenges. As international aid budgets shrink, geopolitical tensions rise, and technology reshapes economies, ONE’s mission and work to demand the investments needed to create economic opportunities and healthier lives in Africa has never been more relevant.

Why Africa? Africa is where some of the world’s greatest challenges — and greatest opportunities — converge. The continent faces high rates of preventable disease, growing debt pressures, and the impacts of climate change. But it is also home to the world’s fastest-growing youth population, emerging economies, and resources critical for the global energy transition.

With the right investments, Africa can drive inclusive, sustainable growth that benefits the entire world.

Our belief endures. Grounded in our origins — from debt relief to systemic reform — ONE continues to build on a simple idea: When people come together and raise their voices, change is possible.

ONE’s work is not about charity, it’s about justice.