Global AIDS pandemic not cricket - UN

UNAIDS and the International Cricket Council (ICC) have announced a joint initiative using the popular sport of cricket to raise global awareness of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Peter Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director, said in a statement: "By working with the ICC and its member boards around the world, we hope to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and inform young people [about] how to protect themselves from HIV." He added that cricket was played in some of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic. "The threat of HIV/AIDS in many of the communities in which cricket is played is acute. I hope that through this partnership the ICC is able to play its part in helping UNAIDS turn the HIV/AIDS epidemic around," ICC President, Ehsan Mani confirmed. Research shows that of the estimated 42 million people living with HIV/AIDS globally, some 12 million are living in cricket-playing countries.