M.A.C. AIDS Fund has announced a RMB1 million donation to UNICEF-China in support of the "Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS" global campaign, launched last year by the Chinese government.

Carol Shen, managing director of Estee Lauder and owner of the M.A.C. Cosmetics brand, presented the cheque to UNICEF-China Representative Dr. Yin Yin Nwe at a star-studded press conference in Beijing. M.A.C. is an an international partner with UNICEF, supporting the organization's work with children and AIDS with funds generated from their "VIVA GLAM" lipstick and other social programme revenues.

In an effort to educate Chinese youth, M.A.C. and UNICEF will launch "The Ten Facts on AIDS" campaign. The "Ten Facts" will tell young people how to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS while encouraging them also to respect those living with or affected by the pandemic. M.A.C's donation will be used to mobilize Youth Ambassadors and celebrities from China for the vital task of raising youth awareness.

"This partnership demonstrates China's private sector leadership in responding to young people and AIDS", said UNICEF-China Representative Dr. Yin Yin Nwe at the press event, "it is an excellent example of a win-win partnership—for young people, for businesses, for China's fight against AIDS."

While prevention education is a key message of the campaign, anti-discrimination is another equally important theme. Ambassadors will also work to end discrimination against HIV positive populations.  They will encourage acceptance of the disease in their communities so that infected persons can feel safe to access the Chinese government's life saving prevention, care and treatment services.

As in most of Asia, where 80 per cent of new HIV infections occur in the 15-24 age group, China's children and youth represent the majority of the 70,000 new infections each year. Despite increased government investment in mass education campaigns, many young people—especially underserved populations of migrants, ethnic minorities, and the unemployed—still don't know how to protect themselves from the epidemic.

This HIV/AIDS education gap is not limited to rural areas. A 2006 survey of over 2,000 middle-school students in a major Chinese city revealed that 40% of respondents did not use a contraceptive during the first sexual experience.

Over one hundred Youth Ambassadors will work on the "Ten Facts" campaign.  These Ambassadors, who have been nominated by their peers for their outstanding community work on HIV/AIDS prevention and care, will teach their friends and family how to protect themselves from the disease. They will learn and teach "The Ten Facts" through peer education activities that draw on art, theatre, sports and the Internet to convey ideas.

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