Gwyneth Paltrow Gives The Gift To UNICEF

The Gift is a new short film that features Gwyneth Paltrow as she narrates a poem by Simon Armitage for UNICEF. The dramatization depicts a typical, small African village, young love, a dark discovery, the social stigma of a pregnant woman with AIDS, and fear for the baby’s future.

The first message of the 4-minute short: Almost every minute, somewhere in the world, a baby is born with HIV. It costs less than $2 for treatment to prevent over 98% of mothers with HIV from passing the virus to their newborn child.

“I hope that this new short film will raise awareness and funds about this issue,” said Paltrow. “And UNICEF will be able to reach every woman with the vital care and medicines they need.”

The second message: A plea for support of UNICEF’s petition “to keep the promise made at the G8 Summit to help raise the $1.5bn needed to stop babies being born with HIV.”

“All that’s needed now is funding and political will,” said Jemima Khan. “World leaders promised to help but we are yet to see any concrete action or money.”