Former Miss World, actress and now a mother, Aishwarya Rai adds another feather to her cap. She has been appointed as the new international goodwill ambassador for UNAIDS. She has now taken up the job of spreading awareness globally, on protecting children from HIV infection and increasing access to antiretroviral treatment. This is something which has always been very close to her heart.
Seemingly, Ashwarya had been approached by the United Nations for the same cause way back in 2002. But, at that time she couldn’t make a commitment as she was busy with her movie career.
Aishwarya told, “In India you commit to films years ahead, so I could never find that time in the diary to be able to commit to actual work being done, it would have been a great announcement, but I have never been the one about announcements, so I had kept it on hold and then earlier this year we happened to meet when they had actually come down to India and I had expressed that I was interested in real work being done.”
At a press conference, Michel Sidibe, the UNAIDS Executive Director welcomed Aishwarya Rai to the UNAIDS family.
“Mrs. Rai Bachchan is respected and admired by millions of people around the world,” Sidibe told. “I am convinced that through her global outreach, Mrs. Rai Bachchan can help UNAIDS reach its goal of eliminating new HIV infections among children by 2015.”
Aishwarya in turn told, “I am honoured to accept this appointment.”
She further added, “Spreading awareness on health issues, especially related to women and children, has always been a priority for me.”
“And now, as a new mother, I can personally relate to this — the joys and concerns of every mother and the hopes that we have for our children.”
“I strongly believe that every baby should be born free from HIV. And I wish that every woman living with HIV stays healthy and has access to treatment. I promise that with UNAIDS, I will do my utmost to make this happen,” she further added.
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