By Aime Pingi on
France’s First Lady, model-turned-pop star Carla Bruni, will use her celebrity profile to rally support in the fight against the deadly AIDS virus.
The wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy will act as a goodwill ambassador for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, as well as other dangerous illnesses including tuberculosis and malaria.
The weekly l’Express magazine reported that Bruni has agreed to be a goodwill ambassador for the protection of mothers and children against AIDS.
" I was very honored that they propose it to me ", said the 40-year-old, who presented her commitment during a press conference on Monday with Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Created in 2002 to finance prevention and access to treatments in poor countries, the fund – based in Geneva – oversees hundreds of programs in 140 countries through public-private partnerships that have raised more than 11 billion dollars.
Bruni, who married Sarkozy in February, expressed an interest in work to battle HIV following a visit to South Africa, which has one of the world’s largest AIDS caseloads.
The supermodel-turned-singer has said she hoped her status as French First Lady could be used to advance a worthy global cause and promises to focus her AIDS charity work on the plight of mothers and children who are affected by the disease. “Every day, 1,000 children are infected by the virus and 90% are it by their mother. There is a whole educational work to be led.”
For her new work, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy plans to lean on the team of her husband by taking advantage of its official movements. " I do not know if I am a good diplomat, but I am full of energy ", she says.
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy said that she is very sensitive to the cause of the AIDS, notably because her own brother died from this disease. Her mother created a foundation in Virginio Bruni-Tedeschi’s name in 2007.
The French First Lady wishes to pursue this commitment even after her husband is no longer President.
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy also explained that she has other projects in France in the field of education, and more particularly of the fight against analphabetism and illiteracy. " I hope I can speak about it soon more exactly. From the beginning of the next year ", she promised.
Copyright © 2008 Look to the Stars
