Paris:
Wearing a red ribbon, French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy became a global AIDS ambassador, vowing to direct the media spotlight on her toward a ",more important", cause.
The wife of President Nicolas Sarkozy chose World AIDS Day to announce her new mission as ambassador for the Global Funds to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Nine months after her marriage to Sarkozy, the supermodel-turned-singer said on Monday she wanted to use her celebrity status to draw attention to ",the most vulnerable victims of AIDS",, women and children.
",I benefit from your regular and constant attention,", Bruni-Sarkozy told journalists, standing at a podium at the Elysee palace's Marigny guest residence. ",And today, I finally have an opportunity to direct your attention to something more important and more serious.",
The first lady will focus her work on preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV -- which is virtually wiped out in Europe through treatment but still affects 30 percent of newborns in Africa.
Some 1,200 children are infected with HIV every day and half of those will not live beyond the age of two, according to UNAIDS.
Through field trips, advocacy and by mobilising other celebrities to add their voice to the struggle against AIDS, Bruni-Sarkozy hopes to bring renewed focus to a cause that appears to be suffering from donor fatigue.
The wife of President Nicolas Sarkozy chose World AIDS Day to announce her new mission as ambassador for the Global Funds to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Nine months after her marriage to Sarkozy, the supermodel-turned-singer said on Monday she wanted to use her celebrity status to draw attention to ",the most vulnerable victims of AIDS",, women and children.
",I benefit from your regular and constant attention,", Bruni-Sarkozy told journalists, standing at a podium at the Elysee palace's Marigny guest residence. ",And today, I finally have an opportunity to direct your attention to something more important and more serious.",
The first lady will focus her work on preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV -- which is virtually wiped out in Europe through treatment but still affects 30 percent of newborns in Africa.
Some 1,200 children are infected with HIV every day and half of those will not live beyond the age of two, according to UNAIDS.
Through field trips, advocacy and by mobilising other celebrities to add their voice to the struggle against AIDS, Bruni-Sarkozy hopes to bring renewed focus to a cause that appears to be suffering from donor fatigue.
