Global Citizen Festival generates $2.4 billion in pledges

By GLENN GAMBOA
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The 10th anniversary of the Global Citizen Festival, which included performances from Metallica, Mariah Carey and Usher, generated more than $2.4 billion in commitments to fight extreme poverty and disease. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and others addressed the crowds gathered in New York’s Central Park and Black Star Square in Accra, Ghana, for nine hours Saturday. International leaders announced new policies at the festival, influenced, in part, by Global Citizen supporters. French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed he would reallocate part of the country’s International Monetary Fund reserves to the world’s poorest countries to help them battle poverty and climate change.