UNICEF AMBASSADOR MIA FARROW TO MEET WITH WAR-AFFECTED CHILDREN IN UGANDA

14 July - Actress and activist Mia Farrow is travelling to Uganda today in her role as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to meet with children impacted by years of conflict.

During her three-day trip she will visit Gulu, an area in the north where she will speak with children once held captive by the rebel group known as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), which is notorious for using children as soldiers and terrorizing civilians in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR).

She will also visit Kotido in the northeastern region of Karamoja where children are faced with ongoing violence caused by local tensions.

Northern Uganda has experienced decades of civil war and unrest between the Government and the LRA, UNICEF noted in a news release. The region suffers from higher levels of poverty, malnutrition, under-five mortality and children out of school.

As part of her visit, Ms. Farrow will attend the opening of the first-ever African Youth Forum on 17 July in Entebbe, which is organized in cooperation with the African Union Commission and the Government of Uganda.

The focus of the Forum, and of the 2010 AU Summit which will follow a week later, is on maternal and child health and development, with youth participants preparing key recommendations for the leaders that will attend the AU Summit.

The Forum will also address issues such as HIV/AIDS, child rights and access to quality education.

Since being appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in September 2000, Ms. Farrow has visited Angola, Chad, CAR, DRC, Gaza and the West Bank, Guinea, Haiti, Nigeria and Sudan.