Help may be at hand in the form of Project Red, an effort conceived by U2 rock star Bono and the Kennedy clan's Bobby Shriver, who have worked together on African poverty issues. The project is centered on enlisting companies to create special "red" products, a portion of whose profits -- about 40% to 50% -- is given to the global AIDS fund for its work in Africa. "We're trying to make it really easy for people to help," Bono says, referring to consumers.
Mr. Annan's special U.N. envoy for AIDS in Africa, says, "The companies are going to benefit a hell of a lot more from Bono's name than the global fund is going to benefit from the companies."
Replies Bono, "We don't know that yet. If we fail, that's true."
The U.N. envoy for AIDS in Africa suggests that companies give 0.7% of their after-tax profits to the fund. But Ms. Tanguy of the HIV/AIDS business coalition says, "It's not going to happen," in part because shareholders likely wouldn't agree.
[By Steve Stecklow, The Wall Street Journal]
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