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Kick out Poverty Campaign TV ad by Drogba and Zidane to be played through public viewings nationwide

NEW YORK/TOKYO/YAOUNDE, Cameroon —In the lead up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, Official FIFA Partner, Sony Corporation, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have launched a campaign to bolster efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) —a set of eight internationally-agreed goals designed to reduce poverty, hunger, disease, and maternal and child deaths by 2015.

The “Public Viewing in Africa” campaign focuses on Goal Six: combating HIV and AIDS — in areas of high HIV prevalence.

Sony and UNDP will set up large screens to broadcast live and free of charge, eight 2010 FIFA World Cup™, matches in different locations around the country, allowing people with no access to TV in Bamenda on 14-15 June, Nkongsamba on 17 June, Buéa on 19-20 June and Mbalmayo on 23-24 June, to see Cameroon and other teams play. During halftime, UNDP and local partners will provide the viewers with HIV and AIDS counseling, male and female condoms as well as other advocacy materials.

The global partnership includes the dissemination of a multi-lingual public service announcement featuring UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors and football luminaries Didier Drogba and Zinedine Zidane, calling on citizens of the world to join the team that will beat poverty. The public service announcement produced by UNDP will be broadcast during the FIFA World Cup™, in cooperation with Sony.

“There can be no spectators in the fight against poverty,” said UNDP Administrator Helen Clark. “The World Cup brings people around the globe together, and we need a similar effort to meet the Millennium Development Goals. We are all needed on the pitch if we are to improve the quality of life for many hundreds of millions of people across developing countries.”

Although football is the most popular and closely followed sport in Cameroon, and their national team will play for the FIFA World Cup™, household TV penetration is around 22 percent, limiting the number of people who are able to watch the games.

“I am delighted that the “Public Viewing in Africa” campaign featuring our innovative technology can bring joy to the people of Cameroon. I am also proud that Sony can help contribute to the prevention of HIV and AIDS through our partnership with UNDP,” said Howard Stringer, Chairman, CEO and President, Sony Corporation. “Sony will continue to support the UN’s efforts to achieve the MDGs as an important part of our ongoing corporate social responsibility activities.”

For more on the Millennium Development Goals, visit, http://www.undp.org/mdg