Naomi Watts has a new passion. Best known for roles in blockbuster movies like 2005’s “King Kong” and “The Ring” (2002), she is bound to use fame to make a difference.
After witnessing firsthand the widespread affect of AIDS, Watts has a message for the masses: “The disease has been going for 25 years now, and it’s extraordinary… We’ve lost more people to this than the black plague.” Now the spokeswoman for UNAIDS (a United Nations program that combines HIV/AIDS awareness efforts of 10 U.N. organizations), a trip to Africa sparked her drive to increase awareness of the worldwide devastation caused by AIDS.
In 2005, an estimated 38.6 million people worldwide lived with HIV, the infection that leads to AIDS. That year, about 2.8 million died from the disease.
“We went to Mother’s Teresa’s orphanages and saw people there who looked days from death. They’re delivered in wheelbarrows by family members, and because of (antiretroviral) treatments they walk out and go back to their families,” she said.
Watts wants people to know that this is not a “homosexual,” but a “prevalent” disease that easily could land on any of our doorsteps if we remain complacent. Women and youth need education on prevention, as these are the fastest-growing groups for infection.
“We know what works, and we need to get that message across;that’s our challenge. There are a number of programs, people, literally devoting their lives to save people and we need more people like that who are willing to fight the fight,” she asserted. For more information, visit unaids.org.
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