UNICEF 'Goodwill Ambassador' Tetsuko Kuroyanagi visits Afghanistan

Japanese celebrity Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, a Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), is in Afghanistan this week to raise awareness about the plight of the country's women and children.

Ms. Kuroyanagi, who began her six-day trip on 21 July, is visiting Heart and Faizabad, where she is touring drought-stricken areas, camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), orphanage schools, local health facilities and other sites. Upon returning to Tokyo, Ms. Kuroyanagi, is expected to discuss her Afghanistan mission with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in August.

Afghanistan is the latest destination for Ms. Kuroyanagi, a renowned actress and best-selling author who has been making yearly advocacy missions since her 1984 appointment as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Her high-profile visits to such places as Rwanda, Iraq, Haiti, and Kosovo have raised over $26 million for children, more than any other UNICEF celebrity advocate. Last October, in recognition of her unsurpassed effort, she received UNICEF's first-ever Leadership Award for Children.