[afro-nets] UNICEF Teams with Fashion Firm H&M to Fight AIDS

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

UNICEF Teams with Fashion Firm H&M to Fight AIDS And Help Girls'
Education
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Hmmm... not necessarily a good news...
Claudio


UNICEF TEAMS WITH FASHION FIRM H&M TO FIGHT AIDS AND HELP GIRLS?
EDUCATION

New York, Jul 6 2004 11:00AM

The United Nations Children?s Fund (UNICEF) and the global fash-
ion company H&M today announced a joint partnership to promote
HIV/AIDS prevention and help girls to obtain the same basic edu-
cation as boys, with the firm donating $1.5 million for a three-
year UNICEF project in Cambodia as a first step.

The Swedish company will help the agency?s "25 by 2005" cam-
paign, which aims to help 121 million children out of school,
most of whom are girls. The donation will help thousands of
girls obtain the same access to basic education as boys,
http://www.unicef.org/ UNICEF said.

Under the Cambodia project, thousands of adolescents in the
country will receive HIV/AIDS awareness training, a toll-free
hotline for HIV/AIDS counselling and information will be estab-
lished, 75 youth club associations will be started and 2,500
teachers will receive HIV/AIDS prevention training.

?Thanks to H&M?s generous donation, thousands of children?s
lives will be changed and improved,? said UNICEF Executive Di-
rector Carol Bellamy. ?H&M is showing how corporate sponsors can
use their resources to work for the good of children.?

H&M CEO Rolf Eriksen said the new partnership demonstrated the
company?s sense of social responsibility. ?The presence of H&M
on four continents makes us sensitive to cultural differences,?
he said. ?For us it means respect for human rights and the re-
sponsibility for the effects of our business on the local envi-
ronment.?

H&M is a member of Secretary-General Kofi Annan?s Global Compact
initiative, which aims to promote corporate responsibility in
the areas of the environment, human rights and labour standards.
The company?s Ingrid Schullström said its work with UNICEF ?is
also in line with our participation in the UN Global Compact.?