Mandela backs AIDS awareness campaign

NELSON MANDELA gave his backing yesterday to a music-led campaign aimed at raising awareness of the devastating impact of AIDS in Africa.

The former South African president joined celebrities from the music world in London to launch 46664, Give 1 Minute Of Your Life To AIDS, an awareness and fundraising campaign which uses his prison number on Robben Island.

Under the worldwide initiative, people are being urged to ring phone lines on which they can hear a celebrity message which has not been released before.