UNAIDS
Top UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibé with Victoria Beckham. Above Charlize Theron addresses the high-level UN event.
On Sunday, Victoria Beckham made her first public appearance since London Fashion Week, speaking at the United Nations in New York in her capacity as a UNAIDS goodwill ambassador at the 70th session of the UN General Assembly.
Beckham spoke on the first day of the Social Good Summit, appearing alongside other luminaries such as HRH Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan, UNDP administrator and former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark, former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Charlize Theron, Jennifer López, Laverne Cox, Alek Wek, and humanitarian Graca Machel.
Beckham saw her platform as one where she can help the goal of ensuring that no baby is born with HIV. ‘I will do whatever I can to raise awareness. I feel very passionate about this,’ she said. ‘I recently visited South Africa and was so touched by the women I met and felt inspired. I came home and I knew I had to do something.’
Said Theron, Messenger of Peace for the United Nations and founder of the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, ‘There is a generation in jeopardy. Young people are falling through the cracks in the Aids response. But there is reason to hope, we know what works—empowering young people to take care of their health.’
The UN has set a goal of ending Aids by 2030, as part of its ambitious Sustainable Development Goals.
Clark noted, ‘For me it’s about peaceful and inclusive societies, because without that we don’t have the basis for any sustainable development at all. It’s about momentum, hold people accountable, hold your governments accountable, stay engaged as citizens, keep advocating on social media and not wait 15 years to see what happens.’
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