Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is India’s most iconic actor, reining over Bollywood since he first burst to prominence on the silver screen in the 1970s and having now starred in more than 190 films.
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Amitabh Bachchan is India’s most iconic actor, reining over Bollywood since he first burst to prominence on the silver screen in the 1970s and having now starred in more than 190 films. He is the country's most loved, admired and respected celebrity and has a massive public following.
Being one of the most prominent figures in the country renders Bachchan a powerful advocate for social and development causes, and he has featured in many advertising campaigns raising awareness over community problems.
“Amitabh Bachchan has been associated with UNICEF since 2002 and was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in April 2005. In the same year, he supported UNICEF’s effort to create awareness about sexual violence against children and the threat of AIDS against them through the Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS campaign. In 2014, Bachchan was appointed UN Ambassador for Girl Child.
Also through these years and perhaps most crucially, Bachchan’s partnership with UNICEF has seen him become the face of polio mass media campaigns, persuading parents to ensure “do boond zindagi ki”, or to take two drops of polio vaccine each vaccination round. To this end, Bachchan has featured in a series of award-winning television and radio commercials emphasizing the seriousness of the issue.
He additionally took part in many public appearances and field visits to remote areas of the country to spread the message for polio prevention. Bachchan’s enormous popularity, credibility and huge mass appeal not just as a celebrity but as a humanitarian helped create awareness and encourage parents even in the remotest parts of the country to have their children immunized.
Talking about his association with UNICEF’s polio-eradication programme, Bachchan said: “When UNICEF asked me to become a polio ambassador I readily agreed to do that because they described to me the suffering that these young children were going through. I realized that I needed to do what I could to help these children. The journey has not been easy, it's been long and stressful, but I am glad that we have made it to the end and have been able to eradicate polio from its roots from India.”
He went on to say: “It is wonderful to know that India for the first time has been polio-free for more than three years now. I feel honoured that I am a part of this great effort along with UNICEF, the Government of India and other partners in this journey”.
Before Bachchan became involved, India was one of the most severely affected nation by the wild poliovirus and it was that for many decades. As recently as 2009, India accounted for more than half the world’s polio incidence, with 741 cases of polio paralysis. But such has been the impact of Bachchan’s voice, and the efforts of UNICEF and other stakeholders that India has been polio-free now for a number of years.
Talking about his association with UNICEF’s polio-eradication programme, Bachchan said: “When UNICEF asked me to become a polio ambassador I readily agreed to do that because they described to me the suffering that these young children were going through. I realized that I needed to do what I could to help these children. The journey has not been easy, it's been long and stressful, but I am glad that we have made it to the end and have been able to eradicate polio from its roots from India.”
“I feel honoured that I am a part of this great effort along with UNICEF, the Government of India and other partners in this journey”.