U2 singer and social activist, Bono, has been given the first ever George W. Bush medal for Distinguished Leadership by the former President himself. The singer was given the honour in recognition of his humanitarian work in the fight against poverty and preventable diseases such as HIV/AIDS.
Bono praised not only former President Bush, but also Congress and American taxpayers for progress made against AIDS in at-risk populations. There’s a video available to watch below.
Bono also said that the fight on these issues faces an uncertain future. He claimed there are problems with the Trump administration ‘talking about turning back.’ Bono maintained that Americans must be ‘very hard-headed’ for arguing about saving lives.
Bono said: “It’s a huge honour to [win] this award, and I’m here to honour your leadership on the greatest health intervention in the history of medicine.”
The singer continued: 2That’s what I’m not sure people understand: 13 million from PEPFAR [President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief], and if you add the Global Relief Fund, it’s probably been 21 million lives have been saved by this work that you began and led and I’m here to honor that.”
Back in 2002, at a visit to the White House, Bono lobbied former president Bush to lend financial assistance to a series of humanitarian organisations in order to provide financial assistance and help stem the AIDS crisis in poor countries.
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