The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, today appointed Nafis Sadik, the former Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), as his Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia.

In her new capacity, Dr. Sadik will be responsible for promoting throughout Asia the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, which was adopted by the General Assembly in July 2001 at its special session on the pandemic. She will meet with high-level government officials to promote key issues, while encouraging celebrities and other influential persons to get involved in the fight against AIDS. In carrying out those functions, she will work closely with the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Dr. Sadik was the first woman to lead a major UN voluntary-funded programme, heading UNFPA from 1987 to 2000. Before joining the UN, she had been Director-General of Pakistan's Central Family Planning Council.

Dr. Sadik, who holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from Dow Medical College in Karachi, is married and has five children.