Annie Lennox is an HIV AIDS activist and a 46664 ambassador

From the United Nations News Center:  As lead singer of the band Eurythmics and a solo artist, Annie Lennox is known around the world for a successful music career that spans over three decades. In her new role as a celebrity advocate for the United Nations, she is giving voice to millions of women and girls suffering with HIV and AIDS, an issue close to the heart of this mother of two daughters. 

“As a woman and a mother, I have a direct experience with what parenthood is about and I appreciate how precious every child is to their parent,” Ms. Lennox said in an interview with the UN News Centre.

“That is something that is sacred and if we as mothers are not given the tools to survive and cope, educate and nourish, and protect our own children, there’s something really wrong.”

About 16 million women over the age of 15 are living with HIV worldwide and in sub-Saharan Africa, women make up almost two-thirds of people living with HIV, according to the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). In many parts of the world, women have a higher risk of HIV than men.

Ms. Lennox, who was appointed as an International Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS in June, is no stranger to social activism, having worked with organizations such as Oxfam, Amnesty International and Greenpeace.

The 46664 campaign of the Nelson Mandela Foundation is a project close to Annie Lennox’s heart and she noted that if South Africa can make headway in addressing HIV and AIDS, it could serve as “a beacon of hope” for the entire continent.