Bono plays Santa at JFK airport

Bono played Father Christmas at New York’s JFK airport as he helped ship 83,000 presents to children suffering from Aids in Uganda and Sudan.

And the U2 star used the occasion to plead for Washington to cough up more money to fight the deadly HIV virus, which causes Aids.

“It is absolute madness that at a time of unimaginable prosperity in the world, people can be dying at this level,” the singer said.

“There are cities in Africa where a third of the people are going to die, and we have the technology to prevent it.”

Bono was joined by Senator Bill Frist to kick-off Operation Christmas Child, a relief effort headed by the Reverend Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham.

There are 42 million HIV-positive people around the world, with sub-Saharan Africa home to 75% of them, UN figures show. The plane was taking off today for Uganda before continuing to Sudan.