NEW YORK, 8 February 2010: At its New York headquarters, UNICEF highlighted a recent collaboration with MTV through a screening of ‘Shuga’, a three-part TV drama about a group of young friends living in Nairobi, Kenya. As they explore the complexities of love, the characters confront the risk of hiv infection – and learn that a positive test result is not a death sentence.
MTV produced the programme in collaboration with UNICEF and other partners, including the US President’s Emergency Plan for aids Relief, or PEPFAR.
MTV has a long standing commitment to the aids response and has been partner of UNAIDS and its co-sponsors since 1996.
Partnerships like this one play a vital role in UN’s efforts to halt and reverse the aids pandemic. When it comes to delivering messages about hiv prevention, working with media and entertainment partners such as MTV provides a valuable – and credible – connection to young audiences.
– It’s fast, it’s furious, it’s cool – and that’s exactly how we filmed it, said actress Lupita Nyong’o, who plays a lead role in ‘Shuga’ as Ayira, a college student who finds herself torn between a boyfriend her own age and an older man. Ms. Nyong’o attended the screening and a panel discussion that followed, along with representatives of key partners in the project.
