Bono TED Talk: Extreme Poverty Will Be Wiped Out By 2030

Bono At Ted: Extreme Poverty Will Be Wiped Out By 2030
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 24: Recording artist Bono attends the 2013 Vanity Fair Oscar Party at the Sunset Tower Hotel on February 24, 2013 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 24: Recording artist Bono attends the 2013 Vanity Fair Oscar Party at the Sunset Tower Hotel on February 24, 2013 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

Bono took to the TED stage to help headline the conference of global innovators, where he had some good news to share.

The U2 frontman said at the conference Tuesday in Long Beach, Calif., that the number of people living in extreme poverty has steadily declined and that by 2030, the trajectory indicates that no one in the world will be living on less than $1 a day.

The founder of ONE.org pointed out the specifics of the decline of those living in poverty -- 43 percent in 1990 to 33 percent in 2000 to 21 percent in 2010, according to the TED blog.

“The opportunity is real, but so is the jeopardy,” Bono said during his talk. “We can’t get this done until we accept that we can get this done. Inertia is how we screw this up. Momentum is how we bend the arc of history down towards zero.”

Bono had some other bolstering figures to share. In the past 13 years, 8 million AIDS patients have been receiving retroviral drugs and malaria deaths have been slashed by 75 percent.

His message was considerably more upbeat than the severe sentiment he shared back in 2005 at TED when he won a $100,000 prize.

Back then, Bono noted that at the time there were 11 million AIDS orphans and 6,500 Africans were dying every day from AIDS because of a lack of access to drugs that are available at pharmacies. He called on the audience to get involved in making “poverty history” and taking on a more active role, instead of just donating charity.

This year, the renowned musician made the same call to activists to keep the momentum going.

“We’re going to win because the tears that come from our eyes actually come from our hearts,” Bono said. “We’re going to win because we have dreams. We’re going to win because we are willing to stand up for our dreams.”

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