Bono Seeks ‘Grass-Roots’ Support for Fight Against AIDS in Africa During Mid-West Trip
Irish rock star Bono on Monday stopped in Iowa as part of a seven-state Heart of America Tour during which he is seeking "grass-roots" support for the fight against AIDS in Africa, the Des Moines Register reports (Perkins, Des Moines Register, 12/3). The tour, sponsored by Bono's organization Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa, is an effort to raise consciousness regarding the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa and urge President Bush and lawmakers to increase U.S. funding to Africa (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 12/2). Bono, who has been joined on the road by actress Ashley Judd, spoke to 2,000 people at the University of Iowa on Monday, calling for support of a proposal for the U.S. to contribute $3 billion to the cause. Bono said, "We've come to Iowa to grow a movement. We're here because politicians have told us that people in the Midwest don't care about issues outside of America -- and we are here to prove them wrong" (Des Moines Register, 12/3). Bono and Judd on Tuesday stopped near Walcott, Iowa, to talk with truckers, telling them that AIDS is "rampant among truckers in Africa," USA Today reports. The group also met with a high school health class in Davenport, Iowa, and plans to visit Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky., before closing the tour in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday (Memmott, USA Today, 12/4).
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