Press Centre

Press Release

Mia Farrow visits Angola to bring hope to children

Dramatic Challenges Face A Nation Emerging from Decades of War

GENEVA / NEW YORK, 2 August 2002 - The American actress and UNICEF goodwill ambassador Mia Farrow will begin a one week tour of Angola on Monday to bring hope to the country's children and to put a spotlight on the dramatic challenges - and opportunities - that face a nation emerging from nearly three decades of war.

Ms. Farrow will journey to four of the most war-affected provinces, including the notoriously ravaged town of Kuito in the central highlands of Angola, which saw some of the heaviest fighting during Angola's years of civil conflict.

She will visit a variety of sites that represent the complex issues facing Angola today. Among these will be a camp housing thousands of displaced civilians; a quartering area for newly de-mobilized troops and their families; HIV/AIDS prevention projects supported by UNICEF; land-mine awareness programs for children; intensive feeding centres for malnourished youngsters; and UNICEF-sponsored immunization efforts that will soon include a national measles campaign.

Ms. Farrow will also meet with government leaders and UNICEF staff who are involved in efforts to register unaccompanied children and to trace and re-unite families. The Angolan government estimates that 100,000 children have been separated from their families by war, and that as many as 700,000 children have lost at least one parent. The births of more than three-quarters of Angola's six million children are thought to be unregistered, leaving them without any official identification.

The UNICEF Representative in Angola, Mario Ferrari, said he hoped that Ms. Farrow's visit would highlight the dramatic plight facing children and women, but also the hope that exists as the country takes its first steps toward reconstruction and recovery.

"Although Angola is suffering, it is also entering a time of renewal," Ferrari said from Luanda. "The peace accord signed 16 weeks ago symbolizes a momentous historical shift; the storm has passed. The world must see that Angola is no longer a doomed vessel, and that with the right assistance, the children of this country have a future." He added that he warmly welcomed the visit of Ms. Farrow, who he said would have a "powerful and inspiring affect on those she meets. Her eyes will be the world's eyes."

A memorandum of understanding that formally ended the Angolan conflict was signed on 4 April of this year, after opposition leader Jonas Savimbi of UNITA was trapped and killed by government forces in February. More than 1 million people who were cut-off from the outside world in UNITA-controlled areas of Angola are now being reached for the first time in years. The humanitarian needs are enormous.

"It's vital that the world not turn its eyes away from Angola the way it did for so long with Afghanistan," said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. "Mia's visit is a way to help show the world that Angola is at peace, Angola has new hope, and that Angola not only needs but deserves our support."

A world-renowned actor for more than 30 years, Farrow has been a UNICEF Special Representative since September 2000. In January 2001, in her first mission abroad with UNICEF, Ms. Farrow made an extensive tour of Nigeria together with her 13-year-old son, Seamus, who is also accompanying her to Angola. She has been a special friend of UNICEF's fight to eradicate polio - an effort which is still being carried out in Angola - and has made numerous appearances on behalf of UNICEF and children.