Ghana's Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan arrives in Malawi this Thursday for a three-day visit to support the global ‘Protect the Goal’ campaign.
During the visit, whose main sponsors are Airtel and Standard Bank, Gyan will grace the 2014 Standard Bank Knock-Out Trophy final between Silver Strikers and Azam Tigers at Civo Stadium, Lilongwe this Saturday at the Kamuzu Stadium.
Gyan is the Lead Sports Celebrity for Protect the Goal in Ghana and he will be accompanied by his manager Samuel Addo and renowned Ghanaian jazz saxophonist Steve Bedi, reads a statement from the United Nations office in Malawi.
Malawi Ministry of Youth and Sports Development is facilitating the event in partnership with the Joint United Nations Team on HIV and AIDS, the National Aids Commission (NAC) and the Football Association of Malawi (FAM).
UNAIDS Malawi Country Director, Amakobe Sande, said the visit is part of a broader push to re-invigorate HIV prevention.
“Malawi and Ghana are often hailed for their hospitality, peace, stability and democracy. It’s exciting to see the two countries unite through football. Malawi is a shining example of accelerating treatment but we now need a strong push on HIV prevention so that we can get closer to the goal of ending AIDS,†Sande is quoted as saying.
The campaign is one in a series of activities which the National AIDS Commission (NAC), UNAIDS and their partners are undertaking to re-invigorate HIV prevention in Malawi, particularly among young people.
The campaign seeks to contribute towards attainment of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths.