UN taps big names to promote HIV prevention _ Magic Johnson, Jacques Chirac, Chris Hughes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}VIENNA (AP) — The U.N. AIDS agency has tapped some big names — including former basketball star Magic Johnson — to boost global efforts to prevent the spread of HIV.
Others on the UNAIDS commission include former French president Jacques Chirac, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and Nobel laureates scientist Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and former nuclear agency head Mohamed ElBaradei.
UNAIDS chief Michel Sidibe says the aim of the commission is to bring about a "prevention revolution" by influencing policymakers and others. More than 7,000 new HIV infections occur every day.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The commission was officially launched Wednesday at an AIDS conference that has drawn thousands of experts and activists to the Austrian capital.
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Online:
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}UNAIDS: http://www.unaids.org/en/default.asp
AIDS conference: http://www.aids2010.org/