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UN / UNAIDS KENNETH COLE
STORY: UN / UNAIDS KENNETH COLE
TRT: 02:46
SOURCE: UNIFEED - UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 7 JUNE 2016, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, United Nations headquarters
7 JUNE 2016, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, dais
3. Med shot, photographers
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director:
“I am delighted to announce that you agreed to become a UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador. In 2015 more than two million new infections happened, and we still have 37 million people infected. We still have 20 million people without having access to treatment. We still have 19 million people not knowing their status, and of course we can end this epidemic, but will not end this epidemic by excluding, will not end this epidemic by just working in silos, and that’s why I am so happy that you are with us today.”
5. Med shot, reporters
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Kenneth Cole, UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador:
“People don’t realize AIDS is still the crisis that it once was because it is manageable to many people if in fact they have the resources and if in fact they have the access, and not everybody is tested, and not everybody knows their circumstances, but to the degree you make everybody aware, you give them the ability to learn if they don’t know, and how it fact they can avail themselves of resources, then significant progress can be made. So we are looking to bring a campaign together bringing together various generations of advocates and spokespeople that can help in this new world of social outreach.”
7. Med shot, reporters
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Kenneth Cole, UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador:
“People who were presumed to be at risk, because of stigma were unable to speak out. The cost of speaking out was devastating, and their communities, they were at risk of compromising their relationships professionally, personally, in their communities and their homes. And there were stories like that told all the time. No health insurance was available; nothing was accessible to these people. Maybe because I wasn’t a member of those at-risk communities, it was easier for me.”
9. Wide shot, reporters
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Kenneth Cole, UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador:
“The UN is not going to realize its goal unless amFAR realizes its goal of a functional cure by 2020. So, if we can align, we can kind of join forces, then everybody’s efforts become more efficient, more productive and more realistic.”
11. Zoom out, Cole and Sidibé holding certificate
UNAIDS has appointed amfAR Chair and leading fashion designer Kenneth Cole as a UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador. The announcement was made at a special event held on the eve of the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS, taking place in New York from 8 to 10 June.
Michel Sidibé, the Executive Director of UNAIDS made the announcement and said “in 2015 more than two million new infections happened, and we still have 37 million people infected. We still have 20 million people without having access to treatment. We still have 19 million people not knowing their status, and of course we can end this epidemic, but will not end this epidemic by excluding, will not end this epidemic by just working in silos, and that’s why I am so happy that you are with us today.”
Cole said “people don’t realize AIDS is still the crisis that it once was because it is manageable to many people if in fact they have the resources and if in fact they have the access, and not everybody is tested, and not everybody knows their circumstances, but to the degree you make everybody aware, you give them the ability to learn if they don’t know, and how it fact they can avail themselves of resources, then significant progress can be made.”
The new Goodwill Ambassador recalled the early days of the epidemic and said “people who were presumed to be at risk, because of stigma were unable to speak out. The cost of speaking out was devastating, and their communities, they were at risk of compromising their relationships professionally, personally, in their communities and their homes. And there were stories like that told all the time. No health insurance was available; nothing was accessible to these people.”
In his new role, Cole will work to rally the global community by continuing his longstanding role as an advocate for an inclusive response to the AIDS epidemic.
He will help with the communication of clear benchmarks and goals in the AIDS response, including amfAR’s mission of finding a cure for HIV by 2020, in order to realize UNAIDS’ vision of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030
In an interview with UNTV he said “the UN is not going to realize its goal unless amFAR realizes its goal of a functional cure by 2020. So, if we can align, we can kind of join forces, then everybody’s efforts become more efficient, more productive and more realistic.”
Cole has been a leading voice in the global response to AIDS for more than 30 years and continues to be a passionate champion for people living with HIV. As well as managing his business interests, he has been chairman of amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, since 2005. He was instrumental in the launch of amfAR’s Countdown to a Cure campaign, which supports amfAR’s recently opened Institute for HIV Research, based at the University of California, San Francisco. The mission of the institute is to accelerate progress towards developing a cure for HIV.
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