Will goodwill ambassador Aishwarya Rai trump Angelina Jolie?

What’s common among Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Myung-Bo Hong, Michael Ballack, Toumani Diabate, “her royal highness” Mette-Marit of Norway, “her serene highness” princess Stephanie of Monaco, Annie Lennox and Naomi Watts?

They are (were) the goodwill ambassadors of UNAIDS.

Means, photo opportunities with a person called Michel Sidibe, people living with HIV, prostitutes, drug users, children living with HIV, and some star-struck and aging expats with thick accents; opportunities to read from prepared texts at glittering functions; and occasional field trips to Uganda or Timbuktu in designer clothes.

Perhaps they also get a UN Laissez Passer that could help them at chaotic immigration counters in poor countries when they are on their business class junkets.

At least once, they are also most likely to get into the precincts of the UN in New York or speak at a multimillion dollar international conference. There is a special session on AIDS in New York every now and then, and at least one big AIDS conference every year that can showcase their glamour.

And what does UNAIDS do?

They run a massive establishment in Geneva and offices across the world inventing and reinventing the ways to prevent and control the spread of AIDS, and publish a lot. The goodwill ambassadors mentioned above is one of their never ending reinventions that is far easier than getting their hands dirty.

Okay, what will our Aishwarya Rai Bachchan do for UNAIDS?

She will “help raise awareness on issues related to stopping new HIV infections in children and advocate for increased access to antiretroviral treatment.”

Do you mean that she will help reduce HIV in children and improve their treatment?

Aha, UNAIDS won’t say that.

HIV tests and the medicines need to be highly specific, but not necessarily the rhetoric of commitment drafted and redrafted in Geneva or New York. Why get into trouble by committing things that can be held against you? These days every target, whether it is putting HIV positive people on treatment (WHO), preventing infections among children (UNICEF) or even achieving millennium development goals (UN) has more or less backfired. It’s safer to hide behind long-winding sentences even while talking corporate jargons such as RBM (results based management) in boardrooms.

Anyway let’s trust what Aishwarya Rai said for the time being, however amusing her revelation is: “spreading awareness on health issues, especially related to women and children, has always been a priority for me.“ Fantastic priority.

The international market for goodwill ambassadorship is rather huge because not only the UN agencies, which pioneered the practice, but also some of the national and international NGOs want a share of the glamour quotient, however dreary and depressing their cause is. And not surprisingly, it is almost entirely the (young) actresses who get chosen.

Aishwarya Rai is not the first Indian actress to carry the goodwill for UNAIDS or any UN agency. Before her, there was Preity Zinta (UNAIDS), Lara Dutta (UNFPA), Shabana Azmi (UNICEF) and Manisha Koirala (UNFPA) and many others including the art-house brooding types. It’s only natural, that the A-lister goes to the top UN agency and the next in line goes to other agencies.

There is one more pecking order. The super-A lister becomes the “international” goodwill ambassador while those with lower stature get assigned national roles. Aishwarya Rai for instance is “international” while Lara Dutta and Preity Zinta had to be content with the opportunities within India. Interestingly, the huge market ensures that both the khadi and couture types get a chance. These days, even the regional stars are in demand.

Now the million dollar question.

As an international ambassador, will we see the glamourous star-mother in an Angelina Jolie makeover?

Anjelina Jolie, who raised the bar for goodwill ambassadorship outperforming even people like Audrey Hepburn and Susan Sarandon, with over 40 missions to trouble-spots across the world besides becoming an expert on forced displacement, has been the most striking and convincing icon for any international cause. In her case, it has been the cause of refugees.

Ever since she undertook her first field-missions to Sierre Leone and Cambodia a decade go, she converted an otherwise part-time brand-association into a full-time vocation. She stood out of the violent and grimy landscapes of Asia, Latin America and Africa. She spoke for the people in the background. Now, as a special envoy for UNHCR, she is the alternative name for the organisation itself.

This is the opportunity for Aishwarya Rai to get close to what Angelina Jolie has done, if not trump her.

And it won’t be difficult. She should shun photo opportunities with aging men and women and prepared texts, but ask questions: Why spend so munch money and splurge so much glamour on AIDS? Why chase bogus causes, when women and children are dying by the millions of real issues? Why countries such as India borrow so much money from the World Bank for vertical programmes? Why our children and women are so malnourished? Why are they so unhealthy and sick?

Why does the government develop cold feet when one talks of universalisation of health coverage?

Yeah, but that means being unreasonable. But only unreasonable people can bring about changes.

At least that is what I have learned from one of my former bosses in the UN.