India: Ashley Judd Speaks Out for Women

MUMBAI, India, March 14, 2007 — PSI Board Member and YouthAIDS Global Ambassador Ashley Judd is in India this week, campaigning to raise awareness surrounding HIV and AIDS.

She met sex workers in Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment capital, after her arrival. Aid workers estimate there are at least 10,000 sex workers in Mumbai.

"The empowerment of girls and women is an essential tool to preventing the HIV/AIDS emergency from exploding any further," Judd said.

Most women have "dreams for other people, but not dreams for themselves," she said. "That is painful."

With 5.7 million infections, India has the world's largest number of people living with HIV/AIDS. The government has launched campaigns encouraging high-risk groups such as sex workers to use condoms, aimed at stopping the disease from spreading.

PSI's activities in India span 22 States and Union Territories as well as the national highway system. Interventions include extensive work surrounding HIV and AIDS, maternal and child health and family planning.

"There is a common problem worldwide and there is also a common solution," Judd said about the need for more prevention and awareness programs.

Her most recent trip with PSI took her to Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras in May 2006. Previous travels with PSI took her to Southeast Asia in 2004 and Africa in 2005.

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On a previous trip with PSI, to Cambodia in 2004, Ashley Judd bonded with 11-year-old Ouk Srey Leak, whose parents had both died of AIDS.