Bono: The good news on poverty (Yes, there's good news)Since 2000, according to Bono’s data, eight million more AIDS patients are getting antiretroviral drugs; eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa have cut their rates of death due to malaria by 75 percent, and the mortality rate for kids under five has fallen by 2.65 million per year—that’s 7,256 lives saved every day.

“This fantastic news didn’t happen by itself. It was fought for, it was campaigned for, it was innovated for. And this great news gives birth to even more great news,” Bono says: the number of people living on less than $1.25 per day has declined from 43 percent in 1990, to 33 percent in 2000, to 21 percent in 2010. “If you live on less than $1.25 a day, if you live in that kind of poverty, this is not just data,” Bono says. “This is everything.”

According to Bono’s calculations, if this trend continues, 2028 will see zero percent of the population living in extreme poverty.

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

Don’t miss this inspiring talk with a powerful message about the past 3,000 years of history. And for anyone interested in what it means to live in extreme poverty today, here is a series of nuanced essays and interviews that give insight.

1. In February 2010, John Lee Anderson reported from post-earthquake Haiti in The New Yorker. The piece follows Nadia Francois, who was deported back to Haiti from the U.S.; through her story, we see a country not only ravaged by poverty, violence and political upheaval, but also “almost uniquely victimized by nature,” Anderson writes.
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2. Until recently, Mali “was widely viewed as a gentle if very poor democracy,” Joshua Hammer wrote in The New York Review of Books last month. “But the country has long combined poverty, radical Islam, and tendencies to armed rebellion.” In 2011, he writes, that “combustible mix” came to a head as northern Mali became a terrorist haven.
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3. In her book Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo chronicles life in a slum in Mumbai, India, based on three years of research. In this interview in Guernica, Boo discusses her aim to investigate “what I didn’t know: how people get out of poverty,” she says. “Mumbai, especially, had so many contradictions. You have this manifest prosperity, but then more than half of its citizens lived in slums. The life expectancy in Mumbai is seven years shorter than the country as a whole. How can that be in one of India’s wealthiest cities?”
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4. In 2011, Philip Gourevitch wrote for The New Yorker about a cycling team in Rwanda through which boys like Gasore, an orphaned street kid, found second chances.
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5. Rio will host the World Cup in 2013 and the Olympics in 2016. Which puts the spotlight on “the persistent presence of the militias and drug gangs controlling its favelas, these fearfully poor but hardy communities located all across town,” Misha Glenny wrote in FT Magazine last fall. “The juxtaposition of opulence and misery in Rio highlights the moral disgrace of Brazil’s historical legacy. At the same time, it forces the authorities to make good on the genuine commitment of President Dilma Rousseff and her two predecessors to banish the scourge of chronic inequality.”
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6. In 2011, Barbara Ehrenreich wrote a decade-later follow-up to her book Nickel and Dimed, in which she went undercover as a minimum-wage employee to report on the extreme hardships Americans in poverty faced.

In 2005, the TED Prize was given to Bono. Eight years later, Chris Anderson asks, has there been any progress? The U2 frontman is here to tell us. But first, some good-natured Anglo-Irish joshing. “Chris Anderson asked me if I could put the last 25 years of of anti-poverty campaigning into 10 minutes. That’s an Englishman asking an Irishman to be succinct?” Bono is incredulous; the audience seems happy to laugh at both nations.

Bono’s passion: countering what Nelson Mandela refers to as “that most awful offense to humanity, extreme poverty.” His weapon of choice? Facts. “Forget the rock opera, forget the bombast, my usual tricks,” he says. “The only thing singing today will be the facts. I have truly embraced my inner nerd. Exit the rock star.” He removes his trademark sunglasses. “Enter the evidence-based activist.” He puts his glasses back on upside down. Bono is now a “factivist.” And he has the infographic-filled slides to prove it.

Here’s the surprise: there’s a lot of good news. Since 2000, eight million AIDS patients have been receiving retroviral drugs; malaria deaths have been cut by 75%; child mortality rate of kids under 5 is down by 2.65 million deaths a year. “Let’s think about that,” he says. “Have you read anything, anywhere in the last week that is as remotely as important as that number? It’s great news, and it drives me nuts most people don’t know this.”

More stats. Bono clearly has good graphic designers on staff. The number of people living in soul-crushing poverty declined from 43% in 1990 to 33% in 2000 to 21% by 2010. The audience approves and yet, he acknowledges, the rate is still too high. “If you live on less than $1.25 a day, this is not just data. This is everything. If you’re a parent who wants the best for your kids, and I am, this rapid transition is a route out of despair and into hope.”

Can the trajectory continue? Bono has tracked it forward. “If the trajectory continues, look at the number of people living on a dollar a day by 2030: zero. That can’t be true, can it?” But it is. The Zero Zone is possible, even for troubled countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Think of the benefits if this actually transpires, Bono challenges. For one thing, he jokes, “you won’t have to listen to an insufferable jumped-up Jesus like myself.” And 2030 is just around the corner. “That’s only three Rolling Stones farewell concerts away.” The audience laughs, even more when the singer adds drily, “I’m hoping. They make us look really young.”

Here’s the rub. We can’t take any of this for granted. “The opportunity is real, but so is the jeopardy. 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.” But fighting those who would stand in the way of positive progress is a responsibility for everyone. Fighting corruption is easier by means of transparency and openness, and it’s critical that we all play our part. He cites a report from Uganda, where millennials are reporting and exposing government corruption by means of 2G phones and SMS messages. 

“Once you have these tools, you can’t not use them. You can’t delete this data from your brain,” says Bono. “You can delete the cliché image from your brain of supplicant impoverished people not having control of their own lives. That’s not true.”

So can everyone here at TED also take up the cause, become so-called “factivists”? Bono’s on the hard sell. “We’re here to try and infect you with this virtuous database virus, the one we call factivism. It’s not going to kill you; it could save countless lives. We in the One campaign would love you to be contagious, spread it, share it, pass it on. By doing so, you will join us and countless others in what I truly believe is the greatest adventure ever taken. The ever-demanding journey of equality. Could we answer that clarion call of Nelson Mandela with science, reason, facts and dare I say it, emotion?”

In conclusion, Bono quotes Wael Ghonim, the former Googler who used social networking and technology tools with such effect in the Egyptian uprising. “I have his words tattooed on my brain,” says Bono. “We’re going to win because we don’t understand politics. We’re going to win because we don’t play their dirty games. We’re going to win because we don’t have an agenda. We’re going to win because the tears that comes from our eyes actually come from our hearts. We’re going to win because we have dreams. We’re going to win because we are willing to stand up for our dreams.”

“He’s right,” Bono reminds us. “We’ll win if we work together as one, the people. The power of the people is so much stronger than the people in power.” And, for the man who earlier confessed that applause was his weakness, a standing ovation.

Here are the speakers in this session. Click on their name to read a full recap of their talk:

A former two-term governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm makes the case for empowering states to create jobs through a Clean Energy Jobs Race to the Top.

Robert J. Gordon is among the most influential macroeconomists in the world. And the big picture he sees is not altogether rosy.

Erik Brynjolfsson examines the effects of information technologies on business strategy, productivity and employment.

What happens when Robert J. Gordon and Erk Brynjolfsson debate? Read here.

Born in Havana, Cuba, Pedrito Martinez spent his youth steeped in rumba and the music of the Santería religion. His music had become an intoxicating blend of Cuban tradition and African-American styles.

Rodney Brooks builds robots based on biological principles of movement and reasoning. The goal: a robot who can figure things out. Get ready to meet Baxter.

The founder and CEO of Romotive, Keller Rinaudo creates robots that use smart phones and are designed for interaction.

Nilofer Merchant thinks deeply about the frameworks, strategies and cultural values of great businesses new and old, large and small.

Bono, the lead singer of U2, uses his celebrity to fight for social justice worldwide: to end hunger, poverty and disease, especially in Africa. His nonprofit ONE raises awareness via media, policy and calls to action.

To celebrate our billionth video view, we reached out to 24 top personalities in the fields of technology, entertainment and design, asking them to curate a playlist of the TED Talks they just can’t get out of their head. Yesterday, Bill Gates, Glenn Close, Reggie Watts, Ben Affleck and Jill Bolte Taylor gave their selections. Today we bring you fresh playlists from Bono, Bobak Ferdowsi of NASA, Isaac Mizrahi, and Chinese newscaster Wang Lifen.

When Bono accepted the TED Prize in 2005, he offered this wish: that aid to Africa not be thought of as a celebrity cause but instead be considered a global necessity. Head to the playlist section where Bono has picked 8 talks that express equally powerful ideas, and shares why each needs to be spread >>

Bono also wants to make sure you watch Kate Coleman’s TEDxDublin talk, “Eradicating needless blindness.” Writes Bono, “Kate Coleman is the quietest storm that ever blew into town. Gorgeous, dulcet tones take you through some tough and innovative thinking on how to quickly eradicate the scourge of needless blindness.” 

NASA engineer Bobak Ferdowsi captured our hearts during the landing of Curiosity rover, thanks to his meme-worthy mohawk.  A speaker at this weekend’s upcoming TEDYouth, Ferdowsi says he is fascinated by talks that explore our understanding of the world around us. He says, “This list represents a small set of some of the talks that speak to me about our home in the universe.” Head to the playlist section, where he gives his thoughts on his favorite talks >>

Bobak also highly recommends “Bobby McFerrin – plays…the audience.” He explains, “While I love science and math, music strikes me as the ultimate of human expression that speaks to us all.”

Designer Isaac Mizrahi gets inspiration from children’s books, from ‘50s calendar pinups, even from randomly chasing people down the streets of New York City. This he revealed in his TED Talk, “On fashion and creativity.” Head to the playlist section where Mizrahi gives notes on six TED Talks that are each a source of inspiration for him, too >>

A top newscaster in China, Wang Lifen has played a part in the CCTV shows “EasternHorizon,” “Dialogue,” “Economic News,” “First Time,” and “Half Hour on Economy.” However, with her newest venture, Umiwi.com, she’s calling on the youth of China to make their own media. Head to the playlist section where she picks five TEDTalks she loves to quote >>

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Stay tuned to the TED Blog tomorrow for playlists from Barbra Streisand, Mikko Hyppönen, and Peter Gabriel. Special thanks to Mashable and iTunes for helping us share these playlists. Head to iTunes to download these lists as limited-edition podcasts and to Mashable see their exclusive additional lists from tech superstars.

And as always, we want to hear about the talks you love. This week, tweet a favorite playlist — or the name of talk that deeply resonated with you — using the hashtag #topTED.

As the Research Digest points out, this research relates to some ground-breaking line-jumping research by Stanley Milgram in the 1980s. Learn more about Stanley Milgram in Philip Zimbardo’s TEDTalk >>

And apropos U2 — watch Bono as he accepts the 2005 TED Prize and makes a wish for Africa >>

Image: Ticket 47, U2 (2) at the Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 14 , 2005, from steev-o via Flickr.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala will oversee the World Bank’s work in Africa, South Asia, and Europe and Central Asia. “Her commitment to the developing world is unparalleled,” said Robert Zoellick, the president of the World Bank. She’s been working with the Stolen Assets Recovery (StAR) initiative to help poor countries reclaim assets lost to corruption, and with Bono’s DATA organization on historic debt-relief programs. Bono said of her last week, “She’s the kind of leader we all want to work for.” (And as Portfolio.com commented, she’s as much a rock star as that Irish gentleman.)

We have a 79-year-old nun who saves babies in Malawi and Uganda … a middle-aged married couple from the Main Line whose day job is HIV/AIDS prevention in South Africa … a 27-year-old Drexel MBA who’s her own personal Small Business Administration, with microloans out to 18 small businesses in Kenya, Uganda, Togo and Ghana ….

It’s an inspiring reminder of the thousands of ways to be involved. Doing business in Africa is a big part of that equation: Also mentioned is “City Hall’s own division of international trade (who knew?) who helped broker $6 billion in imports from Africa last year.”

Photo by CLEM MURRAY / Inquirer Staff Photographer

Felix Salmon’s Market Movers blog for Portfolio.com gives an overview:

… the conference kicked off with [William] Easterly-by-proxy Andrew Mwenda. Ethan Zuckerman was there to hear Mwenda run down the standard Easterly talking points –- but at TED conferences, the points have a way of talking back. And when Mwenda challenged the audience to name a country where aid had led to development, Bono, of all people, stood up and named Ireland, in the days of the potato famine.

Bono was scheduled to speak [in Session] Two, and he devoted his time not to his own ideas but to rebutting Mwenda’s. …

And a report on the confrontation as it went down comes from fifthculture:

Andrew Mwenda [is] a journalist and social critic (read troublemaker – my kind of guy), and passionate speaker. … [A]ccording to Andrew, all of us bleeding hearts from rich countries are doing the absolute wrong thing by giving aid to African countries. Andrew asked “has anyone in this room benefited or had a relative who benefited from aid?” A surprise answer came from Bono (all I could make out of the comment was “bullocks,” but Bono would elaborate a little later).

Liz Dolan from the Huffington Post reports in detail:

Addressing the growing feeling that debt relief will not get African nations nearly as far as western direct investment, Bono said “You’d think somebody farted in here when the words ‘debt relief’ came up — ooh, that’s so uncool. Well, I will tell you that 20 million children in Africa are going to school today as a direct result of debt relief, 3 million right here in Tanzania alone.

David McQueen reports on the talks and the reaction:

… Talking to a number of people afterwards there were many mixed messages. Most believed that trade should be the primary focus but with incumbent governments still very dependent on aid that the focus should change. Personally I lean more to the position of Mwenda. Here is a man looking at the situation from the ground, and with possible prison sentences hanging over him from his native Uganda. OK he may not have all the solutions but his disdain for people looking down at Africa trying to solve issues from the outside in definitely resonated with me and many others.

Ecorica-Blog offers some more background on Andrew Mwenda’s analysis:

One important remark: He admits that aid can bring humanitarian relief and can save lives, but he does not believe in the idea that aid can support long-term development of a society.

Live-blogging hero Ethan Zuckerman writes at length about both Mwenda‘s and Bono‘s talks. (The title of this blog post is borrowed from his indispensable blog.) White African also offers a good look at the talks, as does Ramon Thomas.

ClassV took a tour led by DATA and shot some breathtaking photos:

The days … in Tanzania have been inspiring, breathtaking, potentially life changing. Spent time engaging directly with the community through DATA and its founder, Bono. The term hero should be reserved for the kind of people I met during these visits, offering their love to the most unfortunate among all of us connected on this planet.

AfroMusing posted a long entry on the DATA trip, plus photos:

Early monday morning I was among a group of TEDsters for the DATA morning field trip before the conference. DATA is the organization founded by Bono of U2 to raise awareness about the issues facing Africa, namely Debt, Aids, Trade and Africa. DATA is mostly associated with the lobbying for debt forgiveness for the developing countries such as Tanzania. It was an incredible day, started out at the Artemisia farm of Mr. and Mrs. Loshie of Sambasha in Arumeru district. …

Mweshi posts more stories and photos from the DATA tour:

The farm was only the first part of our half-a-day long trip. Following the farm visit, we saw how debt relief has helped to bring about improved health care and education in a clinic that provides ante-natal and post-natal services to mothers and would-be mothers as well as two schools located on the outskirts of Arusha. …

Hugo Schotman helped hand out Lapdesks before the conference, and took pictures.

Technorati tags: TED, TEDGlobal, TEDGlobal2007, DATA