July 24-27, 2004 Treviso, Italy La Ghirada Sport Center (Benetton)

July 25--The NBA has partnered with UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund for the second consecutive year to support education and HIV/AIDS prevention around the globe. During Basketball Without Borders Europe, the young players participated in a seminar intended to promote leadership, support education, and raise awareness about HIV/AIDS education and prevention.

The seminar was lead by Chip Lyons, the president of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, the domestic fundraising arm of UNICEF and Boston Celtics guard Jiri Welsch. We discussed the NBA's partnership with UNICEF with Chip following Sunday's seminar.

What is the U.S. Fund for UNICEF?
Lyons: "We exist to support UNICEF and make it as easy as possible for Americans to financially support work that UNICEF does. We have education programs in U.S. schools about the challenges that particulary poor kids face around the world, and what UNICEF is doing to help countries do better by their own kids. We lobby the Congress and have programs to promote helping kids around the world."

How has HIV/AIDS become the number one priority?
Lyons: "In Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe, HIV has become our most important program priority. Over the last 10 years, what HIV and AIDS is doing particularly in poor countries is unravelling so much of the progress UNICEF has made in those countries in the 80's and early '90's. We've made a major committment, UNICEF has globally, and we have in the United States to make HIV a priortiy and to raise 100 million dollars in the United States over the next five years to support UNICEF's work on HIV and AIDS."

How widespread has the epidemic become?
Lyons: "HIV is by far the worst plague the world has ever faced, without question. Three million people died in 2003, so far 23 million have died from HIV and AIDS. There are more countries where the infection rate is increasing rather than decreasing

It's still spreading dramatically, fastest in Eastern Europe and parts of Asia. The numbers of orphans is now approximately 14 million worldwide, 90% of which are in Africa. As many as 800,000 children are infected with HIV or AIDS."

How does the NBA fit into the plan?
Lyons: "Our relationship with the NBA goes back several years. I've worked with Wizards owner Abe Pollin for over 15 years. He is a very generous donor and always among the first to respond in emergencies. Commissioner Stern has made a committment to fighting HIV. Along with UNICEF's presence in 160 countries, there's not a place where the NBA is and kids are playing basketball where UNICEF isn't working. Given the global popularity of basketball...of Yao Ming, of Magic Johnson and others, they can effect the attitude and behavior of young people and that's why this partnership with the NBA is invaluable when it comes to trying to help HIV-negative kids stay negative.

Why Basketball Without Borders? Why target these kids?
"HIV is an issue in every single one of the countries of all the kids here. The Eastern European counties are witnessing the fastest growth of HIV of any other region in the world. There's a real appropriate partnership of UNICEF and the NBA right here in Treviso.

We want these kids to see themselves as role models in their community. They can do that already in their schools or with their friends or younger brothers and sisters. They can be a voice and we want to give them the confidence to do so."

Welsch (center) and Lyons (right) lead a seminar on Sunday.

So the kids are the key?
"We see these kids the same way the NBA does. These are future prominent basketball players. We want to get it into their heads at 16 or 17 that they are role models in their schools and families Some of them are already known throughout their own country. It's not too early for them to be thinking 'What I say matters...and I have an opportunitiy to be an advocate.'

The NBA is doing them a tremendous service in already asking them to think about issues and be prepared because their voices will be sought after by people in their countries."

What was your experience during last year's camp, your first of the partnership?
Lyons: "Last year we had the opportunity to work with Andrei Kirilenko and discussed how it was effecting the Russian federation. Through the NBA we were able to produce a PSA in Russian and in English with Andrei and his wife. It's being broadcast in Russian speaking areas of the world. They tell people to be abstinate, practice safe sex and avoid intravenous drug use. Andrei Kirilenko saying that is going to influence the behavior of young people.

This is our second year in Basketball Without Borders Europe where we are able to do a workshop for the kids on HIV but also we get to talk to players like Jiri Welsch on what he might do to help promote HIV/AIDS awareness. He's interested in getting much more involved in the HIV issue in the Czech Republic."

How did today's seminar go?
Lyons: "We're trying to jar them a little bit about how serious HIV is. We want to support them and let them know what they can do about it and how they can work with people at home in their language. Each one of these kids is getting personalized notebooks with contact information about the UNICEF resources that exist in their own country when they go home."

How did Jiri Welsch work with the kids on this issue?
Lyons: "He's a natural. He emphasized the degree to which it hits home for each person. It's not an Africa only issue. He said, 'HIV is a serious problem and a growing problem in your country and in my country. You need to be thinking as well about what you can do when you get back home. Don't wait. Andrei Kirilenko's doing it. Yao Ming's doing it. I'm gonna do it, but don't wait until you become an NBA star.'

"These guys would much rather hear from Jiri Welsch than hear from me. The fact that he's so effective and genuine about it is gonna help them."

What are some examples of the program's success?
Lyons: "Uganda, Thailand and Sengal are positive examples where there is a political committment to confront the issues as well as religious leaders and celebrities to speak out. You have to break the taboo on HIV and AIDS and remove the stigma. Uganda confronted the virus so that the infection rate in young people dropped. It was as high as 22%, it's now 6%. The national infection rate in Uganda is below 6%, down from above 20%. We know what to do, the question is one of scale. It's about getting more information out to more people."

What are the long term goals?
Lyons: "Our broadest goal is to make sure that in every country, a government has a national policy and a strategy on how to support children that are orphaned and are particularly vulnerable to HIV and AIDS. Second, we want to make sure that HIV positive women are treated so that we reduce the chance that their babies are infected from 40% to below 5%. We want to be able to reach as many as 50% of young people in those countries effected by HIV with information on how to protect themselves."

How does the future look?
Lyons: "Globally, unfortunately things are gonna get worse before they get better. We know what to do to fight HIV and AIDS. the real issue is whether we scale it up so we reach all people where the virus exists. The NBA is global and helps us communicate our program. The NBA's voice and UNICEF's presence in all these countries is really a perfect fit."

For more information on UNICEF, please visit unicefusa.org.