HIV activist to use Charlize Theron's Instagram for a day

GENEVA: A young South African activist living with HIV will take over Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron's Instagram account on World AIDS Day, the United Nations said Thursday.

Ibanomonde Ngema, a 21-year-old activist, will be given the reins to the South African-born actress's global account @charlizeafrica, with some 7.6 million followers, on December 1, UNAIDS said in a statement.

The takeover by Ngema, who was born with HIV and has dedicated her advocacy work to dispelling myths and reducing stigma around HIV, will aim to bring awareness to the first-hand experiences of young people living with HIV, it said.

Theron, a so-called UN Messenger of Peace who has long advocated for tackling the systemic inequalities that drive HIV infections among young women and girls, insisted in the statement that "ending AIDS is within reach".

But, she warned, "only if we completely dismantle harmful patterns of stigma and discrimination through laws, policies, and practices that protect people living with HIV".

Theron won a best actress Oscar for her lead role in the 2004 film "Monster" and has more recently starred in pictures such as "Mad Max: Fury Road".

"I have always loved watching Charlize Theron on the big screen and have long been inspired by her using her influence to help people around the world, especially in our home country of South Africa," Ngema said in the statement.

The announcement came after UNAIDS this week released a new report that showed how rights violations exacerbate the vulnerability of women and girls to HIV.

Last year, women and girls accounted for 62 per cent of all new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa, UNAIDS said.