Singer songwriter Annie Lennox can add UN AIDS Ambassador to her resume as she was named International Goodwill Ambassador for the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, the Associated Press is reporting.
Lennox said, “The daily brutality faced by millions of women and girls is unacceptable. If we are to end the cycle of human devastation triggered by the AIDS epidemic, we must address the rights of women and girls and challenge their second class citizen status, which puts them at greater risk of HIV.”
According to the organization’s website, Lennox’s first task as Ambassador will come June 7-9. She is planning to participate in the Women Deliver 2010 Conference and 2010 Global Business Coalition Conference in Washington, D.C. The focus of the conference is to tackle HIV-specific needs of women and girls.
Lennox goal is to help empower women so that they can better protect themselves from HIV and other life threatening diseases. It is widely reported that the lack of access to quality sexual and reproductive health facilities is a direct contributor to the higher instances of death among women.
This is not Annie’s first stint as an activist. In 1990, Lennox recorded a version of Cole Porter's Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye for a benefit album with proceeds going to AIDS awareness. Also, in 2007 Lennox launched “Sing,” a campaign to raise awareness and support for women and children affected by AIDS in South Africa. In 2009, Lennox was awarded an Honorary Degree from the University of Edinburgh in recognition of her work on HIV/AIDS.
Lennox, 55, is a multiple Grammy and Oscar winner who first shot to fame in the early 80s as part of The Eurythmics. The group’s megahit Sweet Dreams is one of the most widely recognized and celebrated songs in music history.
Lennox has won Grammys for her solo albums including, Album of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocalist. Most recently, she won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for Into the West.
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