UNICEF's AIDS Fight
Behind the Scenes
August 2006
©UNICEF
Video Transcript
Roger Federer, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador:
“Every minute of every day, a child under the age of 15 dies of an AIDS-related illness. HIV/AIDS is threatening
children as never before.”
That’s number one ranked tennis player and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Roger Federer in a new public service
announcement for the UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS campaign.
The tennis ace joins the ranks of a dozen other Goodwill Ambassadors like Ralph Fiennes, Whoopi Goldberg, and
Shakira, who have all recorded video messages for the campaign, which was launched in New York nearly a year ago.
Federer was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in April at UNICEF House in New York. There he talked
about the impact a recent trip to South Africa had on his commitment to children.
Roger Federer, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador:
“I was in hospitals to see kids that weren’t doing so well, with HIV/AIDS and everything. It got me really sad all of a
sudden because I thought, wow, these kids have no chance. So I feel like I want to try to help and I think this was for
me, again, a very important moment for me in my life. This is where I said, I want to help, I want to help more.”
Federer’s collaboration with UNICEF began over a year before he became a Goodwill Ambassador: when the Indian
Ocean tsunami struck, he helped organize an exhibition tournament that helped generate much needed funds for UNICEF tsunami-relief programmes.
The exhibition also served as the launch of a global partnership between UNICEF and the ATP – tennis’ governing
body. The partnership, called ACE – Assisting Children Everywhere, focuses on HIV and children.
This is John Allison reporting for UNICEF Television. UNITE… for children.
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