UNICEF: Sri Lankan Cricket Stars Join Fight Against HIV in South

Sri Lanka cricketer Kumar Sangakkara and other team mates taking part in the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa, have a major assignment off the pitch � to campaign for children�s needs and rights in the global fight against HIV and AIDS. Today, they took the campaign, a partnership between Unicef, UNAIDS and the ICC, to Johannesburg�s Tembisa Township where they gave a coaching clinic to local youngsters. But the visit wasn�t only about cricketing skills; it was about raising awareness in the fight against HIV and Aids. South Africa has one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world, and the disease is especially prevalent in poverty stricken areas such as Thembisa. Under the banner of �Unite for children, Unite against AIDS�, the campaign uses the star profile of top cricketers to highlight the unacceptable levels of HIV infection amongst children and young people and aims de stigmatize the disease. The Sri Lankan player�s players, keen to improve on their runner-up spot at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, received a rousing farewell after their days coaching. They left behind not only a commitment to cricket, but also to the fight against HIV and Aids.