Back in 1984, the original Band Aid song, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” was a very big deal. Organised by Bob Geldof and his famous friends (including Bono, Sting, and George Michael), the song became the biggest selling single in British chart history, raising millions of pounds for famine relief in Ethiopia. The song was re-recorded and released in 1989 (Kylie, Cliff Richard), and 2004 (Chris Martin, Dizzee Rascal). 

Now, to mark 30 years since the original release, Bob and the gang are back again. This time he has artists like Ed Sheeran, One Direction, and Ellie Goulding, and the purpose of the release is to raise money to combat the Ebola crisis that we’ve talked a lot about here on Global Citizen.

And that’s good. The Ebola situation does need more money directed towards it, it does need a more informed public, and this stuff is certainly easier done with the support of high profile people. It's also worth remembering that investment into public health systems in countries like Liberia will enable those systems to respond better to other ongoing problems such as malaria and HIV. Personally, I hope that millions of people buy the song, and that the funds raised have a real impact. Excellent.

But there’s been a bit of a backlash in various corners of the internet in the 24 hours since the project was announced. And not just from hipsters and cynics, but from pro-aid journalists, charity workers, and other like-minded people.

Well, there’s a concern that the song (and the publicity around it) won’t actually encourage a real understanding of what’s going on with the Ebola crisis, and what needs to be done to get it under control. The people selling the song will have to keep the story pretty straightforward in order to sell millions of copies, but the risk is that the whole process will just reinforce false stereotypes that people have been working really hard to get rid of. Ones like “all of Africa is poor”, “Ebola has swamped Africa”, and the suggestion that the continent of Africa is indeed unaware that it’s Christmas (though I guess that wouldn’t overly trouble the 45% of Africans who are Muslim). 

In reality, Ebola is currently confined to nations that comprise only 2% of Africa’s population, and are located over in one little corner. The rest of them? No Ebola, and, for the Christian communities, Christmas is generally on track. A Band Aid logo with the outline of the African continent and “E30LA” written across it is not going to do a lot to help people to understand this stuff, and might undo some of the progress of countries elsewhere on the continent to develop their economies, and earn the world’s respect.

So it all leaves me a little torn. I’m glad that Bob Geldof is working hard to improve the lives of people who do deserve assistance, but I hope that the short term gain of the charity single doesn’t come packaged up with a longer term downside. All we can do is get ourselves informed, and find non-annoying ways to include that information in the conversations around us that will certainly happen when the song is released next month.

Hopefully the track sounds good!