Bob Geldof and Bill Clinton in anti-poverty appeals (Roundup)

Sep 27, 2006, 15:27 GMT

Sir Bob Geldof sits next to Britain\'s Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, during a debate on International Dept, at the Labour Party\'s annual Conference, in Manchester, England, Wednesday 27 September 2006. EPA/Richard Lewis

London - Former US President Bill Clinton and Irish anti- poverty campaigner Bob Geldof Wednesday called for new ways to tackle poverty and disease in an 'unequal, unstable and unsustainable modern world.'

Both men spoke as guests at the annual conference of Britain's ruling Labour Party in Manchester, northern Britain, at the invitation of Tony Blair, the outgoing Prime Minister and Labour leader.

Clinton, while hailing the 'stunning success' of Blair's government, and praising his close personal friendship with the British leader, warned that progressive political parties faced new global challenges in a changed world.

'Fundamentally, the fact remains that the modern world is unequal, unstable and unsustainable,' said Clinton, pointing to the presence of climate change, poverty and terrorism.

Clinton suggested that economic aid could in future be a 'cheaper way' of tackling terrorism than military action.

'Since we can't kill, jail or occupy all of our enemies ... we also have to spend some time and money making more and more partners and fewer enemies,' he said.

'It is so much cheaper to alleviate poverty, put kids in school, fight disease, build government capacity and economic capacity in a poor country than it is to fight a war.'

Earlier, Geldof expressed support for the controversial abstinence initiative pushed by US President George W Bush to combat AIDS in Africa.

Live Aid founder Geldof said the so-called Pepar programme was 'highly effective' and gave women 'a weapon' for protecting their health.

The Bush administration launched the 15-billion-dollar President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief in 2003, which has been criticized for diverting a third of the funds to faith-based groups that preach abstinence.

Opponents protest that it smacks of Christian fundamentalism and endangers lives by failing to place sufficient emphasis on condoms.

Geldof, stressing that he was an atheist, told the conference that Aids had stabilized in Africa - partly because of condom distribution.

But he added: 'Pepar, which is Bush's almost personal response to the Global Fund, is a highly effective AIDS combatant mechanism. It works. It's uncomfortable for people to speak these unspoken truths but a lot of that stuff is working.'