At the launch of the UN Human Development Report in Dublin this week Bono threatened to launch a campaign of civil disobedience. Telling reporters that it was unacceptable for 7,000 Africans a day to die due to poverty and disease he said he would launch the campaign if UN efforts do not generate better solutions.
The UN Human Development Report is published annually, and assesses world poverty. This year's report revealed that one billion people survive on less than a dollar per day and that 54 countries got poorer in the 1990's despite the global economic boom.
Bono said: "We are about to get very noisy, we are about to bang a lot of dustbin lids. This issue is the defining issue of our time. This is the first generation that can actually eliminate absolute poverty from the planet, this is the first generation that can afford it because of the wealth of the wealthy countries."