Runa Laila SAARC Goodwill Ambassador

Singing diva Runa Laila received her nomination letter as SAARC Goodwill Ambassador for HIV/AIDS on Tuesday.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 23 April 2013, 07:02 AM
Updated : 23 April 2013, 07:35 AM

Foreign Minister Dipu Moni handed over a formal letter from the SAARC Secretary-General at her office when the singer called on her.

She is the first Bangladeshi to be nominated as a SAARC Goodwill Ambassador.

The Secretariat of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in a meeting in January selected Runa, Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan and Pakistan’s Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy as Goodwill Ambassadors for HIV/AIDS.

After receiving the letter, the singing icon told journalists that she would work with the other ambassadors for raising awareness and generating support for the fight against HIV and AIDS.

The World Bank estimates between 5.5 million and 6 million people are infected with HIV in South Asia – 60 percent of them in India.

According to the SAARC Secretariat, the Committee picked up the Goodwill Ambassadors from the nominations sent by the member states.

They considered “regional stature and eminence, appeal to the target audience, relevance in delivery of message, likely commitment of the candidate and innovative ways that could be utilised in promoting advocacy and awareness in combating HIV/AIDS”.

The SAARC Goodwill Ambassador for HIV/ AIDS Programme was introduced in January 2008.

India’s eminent actress and social activist Shabana Azmi was the first Goodwill Ambassador.