Rock star Bono of the Irish group U2 will address next week’s summit of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community, the charity organization Oxfam-International said.
Bono has used his fame to advocate debt relief for the world’s poorest countries and improved trade relations between Africa and the rest of the world.
The Oxfam statement, released Wednesday, said Bono and Harvard University economist Jeffrey Sachs want the southern African leaders to use money saved due to debt relief to fight poverty and AIDS in the region.
They are scheduled to meet with the heads of state on Monday in Blantyre before leaving for the capital, Lilongwe.
In Lilongwe on Tuesday, Sachs will present findings of a World Health Organization report that says increased health spending on the world’s poorest people would boost economic development and ease poverty levels.
President Bakili Muluzi of Malawi, chairman of the 14-member economic group whose members rank among the poorest countries in the world, is holding a special summit in Blantyre to discuss ongoing fighting in the Congo and the deepening political crisis in Zimbabwe.
