Relentless Fight Against AIDS in Africa Needed: Angelique Kidjo

New York-based Angelique Kidjo, a native of the West African nation of Benin, today called for greater action to fight AIDS across Africa. "HIV/AIDS has become a huge issue for my continent, and the fight against it must be relentless and determined," said Kidjo, a Grammy Award winning singer. A UNICEF goodwill ambassador for the past six years, Kidjo said her work to fight the epidemic has taken her across Africa. She was speaking in South Africa -- where, she said, "several years of denialism has made AIDS absolutely a disaster" -- before proceeding to Dakar, Senegal, to campaign against HIV/AIDS stigma. "Although stigmatization of HIV/AIDS patients exists everywhere on the continent, we are fighting to stop it through music, education, and contacts with political leaders," Kidjo said.

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