UNICEF e-newsletter

UNICEF’s celebrity supporters are busy using their high profile to help the world’s children – notably, by raising awareness about the impact of both AIDS and violence on young people.

In the run-up to the 25th annual celebration of World AIDS Day this Friday, 10 star players from the US-based National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women’s NBA have made UNICEF public service announcements to heighten HIV awareness. Building on a partnership launched in May between UNICEF and the NBA, the multilingual TV spots support the UNITE FOR CHILDREN  UNITE AGAINST AIDS global campaign.

Even Kami the Muppet – a UNICEF ‘Champion for Children’ from ‘Takalani Sesame’, the South African co-production of ‘Sesame Street’ – has got into the act. The HIV-positive Muppet joins former US President Bill Clinton in a newly released video message encouraging open communication about HIV/AIDS and young people.

Meanwhile, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and singer-songwriter Shakira greeted thousands of students in El Salvador earlier this month as part of a drive to protect the world’s children from another urgent peril – the scourge of violence.

The rally in the Salvadoran capital took place in the wake of the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence Against Children, which was released internationally in October. Shakira, a Latin Grammy Award winner who grew up in Colombia, told the students she had a unique understanding of the plight of young people in poor nations.

“I know what it’s like to grow up in a country where many believe there is no better future and choose unlawfulness and violence, feeling it is the only way,” she said.

The anti-violence effort in El Salvador is being organized under the theme, ‘Make the Difference by Not Being Indifferent’ – coincidentally, an apt description of the heartfelt commitment that Shakira and other UNICEF stars bring to advancing the cause of child rights.

Thank You.

For every child
Health, Education, Equality, Protection
ADVANCE HUMANITY
UNICEF

Below are more links that you may be interested in:

Kidjo and Williams in the field
Two other world-famous friends of UNICEF – singer and Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo and tennis ace Serena Williams – recently visited programmes protecting African children from HIV, malaria and other health threats.

Learn more about Ms. Kidjo’s trip to northern Uganda.
Learn more about Ms. Williams’s visit to Ghana.