"RED is a 21st century idea,” said Bono in a statement. “It’s an amazing thing that these companies are doing - lending their creativity and financial firepower to the Global Fund’s fight against AIDS in Africa, the greatest health crisis in 600 years. I think doing the RED thing, doing good, will turn out to be good business for them.” [1]
"A picture of Brazilian supermodel Gisele standing alongside a striking Masai in traditional warrior's dress is currently plastered on billboards around London. It seems to be saying 'you too can be a beautiful person'. Under Gisele are the words 'My Card'; under the Masai it says 'My Life'. The image is designed to promote the new American Express RED credit card... Of course, the promoters of the card are not claiming that they can give the average person the stature and fine features of a supermodel. Instead, the implication is that it can make its users more beautiful in a spiritual sense. Those who use such cards will, it is suggested, be helping a worthy cause through their actions. But at the same time the commitment involved is minimal - all they need is an ability to spend money, which is not a task that most people find difficult." Daniel Ben-Ami, Spiked Online, 28 September 2006, (2)
"The fundamental flaw of the orthodox approach is its failure to appreciate that the best way to tackle poverty is to pursue an ambitious development strategy. And since poor health in the Third World is often linked to poverty, such ambition is also key to tackling many diseases. If Third World countries were rich - if poverty truly was made history - they would have far more resources to treat diseases. They would also have better infrastructure - clean running water, proper sewerage, electricity, roads, hospitals, airports, a proper phone and IT network - which plays a key role in stopping many diseases developing in the first place. Yet the MDGs do not have such a transformation as a target, and many of their proponents are actively hostile to it on the spurious grounds that it is 'unsustainable'. Instead they reinforce a climate of low expectations, which assumes that real development is unrealistic and probably undesirable, too." Ibid, [2]
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