Bollywood's Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Named U.N. HIV/AIDS Envoy

On September 24, the United Nations (UN) appointed Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan a goodwill ambassador.

Her focus will be to help stop new HIV infections in children and promote increased access to treatment with anti-retroviral drugs. She will work with the UN program called UNAIDS, an HIV/AIDS global program advocating the elimination of new HIV infections among children and keeping their mothers alive.

Rai will be promoting a plan that emphasizes 22 countries, including India, which account for more than 90% of new HIV infections among children. Of those 22 countries, 21 are in sub-Saharan Africa, where the estimated number of newly HIV-infected children fell by 25% between 2009 and 2011, according to UNAIDS.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

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