The Ebola crisis is stirring not just policy makers.  Artists and musicians are coming together to play their part.  African artists are leading the way, the rest of us following.  I’m proud to add my voice.

Music can raise money to deal with this crisis – but it can also be a vital part of awareness-raising that can actually save lives.  In recent weeks stars from across Africa have recorded a song to help people know how they can protect themselves from the disease.

The song, Africa Stop Ebola, features a stellar line up including Malian musicians Amadou & Mariam, Salif Keita, Oumou Sangaré and Kandia Kouyaté, the Guinean singers Mory Kante and Sia Tolno, the Ivorian reggae star Tiken Jah Fakoly, the Congolese vocalist Barbara Kanam and the Senegalese rapper Didier Awadi.

In Liberia, Unicef and the Liberian government have worked with local artist F.A. to produce the song “Ebola is Real” to tell citizens how to protect themselves from the disease.

Meanwhile in London musicians including Ed Sheeran, Angelique Kidjo, One Direction, Sam Smith, Bastille, Chris Martin and ONE’s co-founder Bono will be recording the new version of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ on Saturday which will air for the first time on the UK TV show the X Factor the following day.

Lots of us weren’t born when the first Band Aid song came out 30 years ago! But we know how it moved a generation to action, and how it inspired many to go on and create great campaigns like Make Poverty History and Drop the Debt.  So we’re excited to hear how this new version will sound, with new lines and new voices. And of course, it’s great that it will raise (we hope) a lot of money to help right now in the fight against Ebola, with all the money raised going to brilliant organisations working there right now, including through the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).

You can be close to the action by following the recording of the song on Saturday via the BAND APP. This will give you exclusive access to footage from inside the studio. All proceeds from the app will go directly to the Band Aid Trust and be used to help the Ebola crisis.

And you can buy the Africa Stop Ebola song here with all profits going to Medecins Sans Frontiers.

In the week when the the World Health Organisation has announced that the total number of deaths from Ebola has surpassed 5,000, it’s great to see musicians around the world lending their support.

As a global community we have waited too long to respond effectively and now it is time to do something about it.

The post Using music to fight ebola: How we can all get involved appeared first on ONE.

If you picked up the Observer on Sunday you will have seen that we’ve just launched a new report that looks at the progress made in fighting extreme poverty since the historic pledges made at the Gleneagles G8 Summit in 2005.

If you were part of the incredible Make Poverty History movement that helped secure those promises on aid, trade and debt, this is what it has helped achieve.

Our report has got a lot of people talking – so we’ve pulled all the highlights together here if you want to catch up with the conversation. Get ready to scroll!

The post Why our new report has got Kofi Annan, Tony Blair and Bob Geldof talking appeared first on ONE.

I sometimes forget that this fight has been going on for a long time, and it’s even easier to forget that we started making progress decades ago. We always hear bad news, but I think it’s good to spend some time thinking about the journey we’ve taken and just how far we’ve come.

So I’ll be tuning in to Why Poverty? Give Us The Money, a behind-the-scenes look at 30 years of Bob Geldof and Bono’s campaign against poverty. Without them, I wouldn’t be at ONE. I can’t wait to hear how they made it happen.

If you watch, I’d love to know what you think and if it raises any questions for you. But really I hope it gives you some ammunition, so next time someone says things aren’t getting any better, you’ll have seen for yourself that it is and be able to share that information too.

Why Poverty? Give Us The Money will be on BBC4 in the UK on Sunday 25 December at 9pm GMT/UTC. To find about broadcasts in other countries visit the Why Poverty? website.

You can also watch BBC World Service Why Poverty? debate on Saturday 24 November at 20:05 pm GMT/UTC. Find out more on the BBC website.

The post 30 years fighting against poverty appeared first on ONE.