In 1986, the Christian charity World Vision invited popular rock musician Paul Hewson, better known as Bono, to visit some of their aid sites in Ethiopia. Moved by what he saw, he began a long involvement in African philanthropy. In 2002 he founded a charity that rang alarms over the AIDS epidemic ravaging the continent. He encouraged donors, companies, and governments to become involved, saying, “You can’t run businesses if 10 percent of employees are dying.” He helped convince all of those sectors to become involved in the subsequent decade’s massive effort to use donated resources to reduce transmission of the HIV virus, treat its victims, and search for cures.
- Paul Hewson’s charity, one.org/us/about