40 First Ladies nears completion
The 40 First Ladies of Africa are not standing on the sidelines in the fight against HIV and AIDS. They are active, they are gathering resources and they are on the verge of launching the first continent-wide campaign against the pandemic. And, together, they have created OAFLA, the Organization of African First Ladies against HIV and AIDS. "40 First Ladies" is about them and about the challenges they face as they tackle the pandemic in an African way.
This film, funded by UNAIDS on behalf of the Clinton Foundation and produced by mondofragilis network is our second World AIDS Day film. It follows our successful Women are... film released in 2004.
The film was shot in several African countries, in New York and in Geneva and is set to be completed towards the end of November. The current timeline points towards a screener to be available online by November 12. The delay, relative to original intentions, is due to an opportunity we could not miss, an interview with President Bill Clinton in New York yesterday. The extra travel time and editing considerations pushed the screener back by about one week.
- Jeannette Kagame, First Lady of Rwanda and Chairperson of OAFLA
- Touré Lobbo Traoré, First Lady of Mali
- Maureen Mwanawasa, First Lady of Zambia
- Lucy Kibaki. First Lady of Kenya
- Dr. Edith Lucie Bongo Ondimba, First Lady of Gabon
- Amadou Toumani Touré, President of Mali
- Bill Clinton, Ex-President of the United States
- Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States
- Alicia Keys, entertainer
- Bill Rodriguez, Harvard Medical School; Clinton Foundation
- Dr. Abdoulaye Nènè Coulibaly, Ministère de la Santé, Mali
- Prof. Elizabeth N. Ngugi, Co-Director, Universities of Manitoba and Nairobi STD/HIV Control Project
- Dr. Jean-Louis Ledecq, UNAIDS Country Coordinator, Mali
- Sarah Holewinski, Clinton Foundation
- Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director, UNAIDS
- Stephen Lewis, UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa
- Laurent Kamana, Headmaster Kicukiro School, Rwanda
- Lucy Masiye-Lungu, National Programme Coordinator YWCA of Zambia
- Hazel, Matron of YWCA Child in Crisis Center, Lusaka, Zambia
The film also includes tender and difficult moments with sexually abused children and an abused wife and mother.
The film covers considerable ground starting with the inexcusable realities of child abuse. It then reveals what the 40 First Ladies of Africa intend to do about this drama. Their campaign, recently launched in New York, aims to get African adults to "Treat every child as your own." This campaign includes billboards, radio and television and will, with the support of OAFLA's many partners, be the first truly continental AIDS campaign.
The film includes some very difficult moments as we discover a little 7 year old that has been abused by her own family members. But it also includes hope and defiance in the face of the pandemic. The film is for all audiences and should be appreciated by an international and diverse viewing audience.
As always, mondofragilis is proud to be associated with projects that can cause change and we thank our broadcast partners for their same vision.