UNICEF and MAC Viva Glam Boost Efforts to Fight HIV/AIDS
Strengthening a 19-year partnership with UNICEF, MAC Viva Glam is donating $1.5 million to the organization’s work that helps women and children. They have ramped up efforts to continue to help reduce the transmission of HIV from mothers to babies and the stigma associated with the disease.
In honor of Mother’s Day in the U.S., which falls on May 8 this year, MAC Cosmetics is announcing that its philanthropic lipstick campaign MAC Viva Glam is making the donation to support UNICEF’s efforts to see to it that mothers, children and members of the LGBTQ community can access HIV prevention, treatment, care and support around the globe.
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Since 2003, MAC has contributed nearly $15 million to UNICEF’s HIV/AIDS relief efforts through MAC Viva Glam. Every cent of the retail price for a Viva Glam lipstick is donated to organizations such as UNICEF in order to improve the health and rights of people regardless of age, race and gender.
MAC’s latest donation, a two-year grant, will expand HIV treatment programs for vulnerable communities in Brazil, China, Ethiopia and South Africa, as well as in the Middle East and North Africa region.
In China, for example, pregnant women living with HIV will have access to care and antiretroviral treatment, and their babies will receive follow-up services up to 18 months. And in South Africa, there will be efforts to ensure access to treatment for children from birth through the age of 14.
In a statement released Wednesday, Aboubacar Kampo, director of UNICEF’s health section program division, noted that while significant advancements in diagnosing and treating HIV have been made over the past 25 years, it remains a serious public health issue especially among adolescent girls and women. “Far too many people still die from AIDS because of inequitable access to testing and treatment, as well as existing gender inequality, stigma and discrimination,” Kampo said. “A reality that was worsened by the impacts of the pandemic.”
Praising MAC Cosmetics for being “a vocal champion” for LGBTQ rights and HIV/AIDS awareness and support,” Kampo said, “Together, we will overcome barriers and bring HIV programming to the most vulnerable populations.”
AIDS remains the leading cause of death of women of reproductive age, and adolescent girls accounted for more than 77 percent of all new HIV infections in 2020. In addition, 150,000 varying in age from infancy to nine years old contracted AIDS in 2020.
Via email Wednesday, MAC Cosmetics’ global chief marketing officer A?da Moudachirou cited those statistics and noted how despite great strides in the worldwide fight against HIV and AIDS over the years, “our work is far from over.”
Moudachirou said: “UNICEF shares our mission of creating an AIDS-free generation and plays a critical role on the front lines of the fight against HIV/AIDS in the hardest-to-reach and most marginalized communities globally.”
“The hope is that people will be inspired to shop for good this Mother’s Day by purchasing one of our VIVA Glam lipsticks, which enables us to continue funding organizations like UNICEF and helping people, who need our support most,” Moudachirou said.
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