UNICEF NEWS

Goodwill Ambassadors help spread

the word about UNICEF and children

New York, 10 April 2006


Stars of the African music world gathered at United Nations headquarters in New York recently to put the spotlight on malaria.
They came for the US premiere screening of ‘AFRICA LIVE: The Roll Back Malaria Concert’, co-hosted by the UN Foundation and UNICEF.
The film documents a two-day concert held last year in Dakar, Senegal to support ‘Roll Back Malaria’, a global initiative made up of more than 90 partners whose goal is to halve deaths from malaria by 2010. Over a million people die from malaria each year, the vast majority in Africa and most of them children under the age of five.
Grammy-winning Senegalese music legend and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Youssou N’Dour conceived the film along with director and producer Mick Csáky. Among the many stars at the event were Mr. N’Dour and acclaimed West African singer and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo.
Also on hand were UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Kul Gautam and renowned development advocate Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and a Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
The screening is one example of how celebrities use their fame through the Goodwill Ambassador programme to help UNICEF meet the needs of the world’s children.
UNICEF’s newest Goodwill Ambassador – world tennis champion Roger Federer – was appointed on 3 April.
Mr. Federer has long been a passionate advocate for vulnerable children. In 2003, he established the Roger Federer Foundation to fund projects benefiting disadvantaged children with a focus on his mother’s native country, South Africa. He first teamed up with UNICEF over a year ago when the Indian Ocean tsunami struck.
Goodwill Ambassadors like Mr. Federer, Mr. N’Dour and Ms. Kidjo play an important role in helping UNICEF get its message out. Their work is a reminder that every one of us has something to give to make the world better for every child.
Thank you for your continued support.