Bono, Brad Pitt, Other Celebrities Appear in Public Service Announcement To Raise Awareness of HIV/AIDS, Poverty

Irish rock star Bono, U.S. actor Brad Pitt and several other entertainers and public figures star in a 60-second public service announcement scheduled to air on several networks and cable channels on Sunday night and aimed at raising awareness of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the need for poverty reduction in developing countries, the AP/Austin American-Statesman reports. The PSA -- which also features musicians Jewel and Mos Def, actors Al Pacino, Jamie Foxx, Penelope Cruz and Djimon Hounsou, evangelist Pat Robertson and Rev. Frank Griswold, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States -- is part of Bono's campaign "ONE: The Campaign To Make Poverty History." Bono -- who co-founded DATA, an AIDS, debt relief and trade advocacy group -- on Wednesday said that the campaign currently is not seeking donations but instead is seeking to raise awareness. "We're not just asking for people to put cash in the pot here," Bono said, adding, "Americans are generous, we know they'll do that. We're not actually asking for their money, we're asking for their voice." Pitt, who visited Africa in 2004 after being inspired by Bono's advocacy and who plans to travel to the continent again soon, said that it is difficult for HIV-positive people in Africa to gain access to antiretroviral drugs, according to the AP/American-Statesman. "I've seen it; I've been there, and to walk away from it and turn my back makes me culpable," Pitt said, adding, "And I can't do that" (AP/Austin American-Statesman, 4/7).