Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene 2014 Sept - Oct Vol. 9 No.5 | Page 34

People
In Transition
Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake on the life of Goodwill Ambassador Lord Richard
Attenborough
“With the passing of Lord
Richard Attenborough, the
world has lost not only a great
voice, but a great soul. Lord
Attenborough touched the
lives of millions of people
through his remarkable films,
and through his travels and
work as a UNICEF Goodwill
Ambassador, he changed the
lives of countless children.
Lord Richard Attenborough We join his many admirers
in honouring his life and
mourning his loss.”
Producer and director Richard Attenborough (Lord
Attenborough of Richmond upon Thames) had a long
and distinguished association with UNICEF.
Lord Attenborough became a Goodwill Ambassador on
27 October 1987 and built his familiarity with UNICEF

programmes and staff during the filming of Gandhi in
India and later Cry Freedom in Zimbabwe. UNICEF
benefited directly from special fundraising premieres of
both of these films. Premieres of Gandhi, for instance,
raised almost US$1 million.
In October and November 1994, Lord Attenborough
undertook an extensive mission to Africa. He returned to
South Africa in November 1995, after it had ratified the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, for which he had
campaigned on his earlier visit. In April 2000, he visited
Mozambique after it had been devastated by floods and set
up a joint appeal by UNICEF and the United Kingdom’s
Observer newspaper. He has also visited several UNICEFsupported projects in Thailand.
Lord Attenborough worked tirelessly for UNICEF closer
to home, too, supporting many advocacy and fund-raising
initiatives and working to bring children’s issues to the
forefront of the political and news agenda.

Seven journalists win prestigious media awards for excellence in reporting on critical water, sanitation
and hygiene issues

Geneva/Stockholm, 5 September 2014 – Seven journalists were named today as winners of the “2014 WASH Media
Awards” competition for their excellence in reporting on water, sanitation and hygiene-related (WASH) issues.
The journalists, their winning entries, and the award categories are:
• Marcelo Leite (Brazil): “The Battle of Belo Monte” (Category: Water and Energy)
• Natasha Khan (Canada) and Ketaki Gokhale (USA) “No Menstrual Hygiene For Indian Women Holds Economy
Back” (Category: Equity and Inclusion in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)
• Seun Aikoye (Nigeria):“Lagosians shun public toilets as open defecation continues” (Category: Ending Open Defecation)
• Mbali Chiya (South Africa): “Human Rights to Water and Sanitation”(Category: The Human Right to Water and
Sanitation)
• Umaru Sanda Amadu (Ghana): “Water Wahala”(Category: WASH in the Future: The Post-2015 Development
Agenda)
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Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • September - October 2014