WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Colombian soccer legend El Pibe Valderrama, known as one of the best Colombian and South American soccer players of all time, joins forces with ADRA, a global humanitarian organization, through a public awareness campaign to raise awareness about the importance of vaccines to fight diseases.
Each year vaccines save approximately two to three million lives from diseases such as measles, polio, tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Currently, more children are being vaccinated worldwide than ever before. Even so, there are millions of children around the world who lack access to life-saving immunizations.
“We can no longer accept a child dying from a disease that can be easily prevented through vaccines,” said El Pibe Valderrama. “I am honored to join forces with ADRA and its partners to help raise awareness in our communities about the importance of vaccines. This year in particular, there is no better platform than soccer to highlight the need to be vaccinated and to strengthen our defenses!” added El Pibe.
With widespread global interest in the 2018 World Cup, ADRA is launching a soccer-themed campaign with the slogan “Strengthen your defense, get vaccinated!” which links the strengthening of defense in the soccer field with the strengthening of the body's defenses against preventable diseases through vaccination. The campaign, which features El Pibe Valderrama, seeks to raise public awareness about the importance of vaccinating children against more than a dozen diseases, through programs that provide access to vaccination in remote communities that have little to no access to health services, such as populations living in rural areas and indigenous communities.
To view El Pibe’s public service announcement (PSA), visit: https://youtu.be/efOGgTo1mRY
The vaccination campaign will be launched this June through web platforms, social networks, and will be broadcast on television channels throughout the continent. To support this vaccination campaign, please visit: www.adra.org/defense
“With the public’s attention focused on this year’s World Cup, we want to use this opportunity to highlight the need for children to enjoy a healthy and safe childhood,” said Hearly Mayr, senior director of marketing and public relations at ADRA. “This is why we have partnered with El Pibe Valderrama, a much-admired and respected personality in the Americas, to urge communities to vaccinate their children in order to avoid preventable deaths," Mayr added.
El Pibe Valderrama joins other public figures such as the singer-songwriter Juanes, actors Eugenio Derbez and William Levy, the actress and singer Maite Perroni, among others, in raising public awareness about the importance of vaccination.
About Carlos “El Pibe” Valderrama:
El Pibe (“The Kid”) Valderrama, is a Colombian former soccer player who played as a midfielder. A creative playmaker, known for his precise passing, technical skills, and elegance on the ball, he is regarded as one of the best Colombian and South American footballers of all time, and by some as Colombia's greatest player ever; his distinctive hairstyle, as well as talent and skillful playing style made him one of South America's elite and most recognizable soccer players in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He won the South American Soccer Player of the Year award in 1987 and 1993, and in 1999, he was also named one of the top 100 players of the 20th century by World Soccer. In 2004, he was included in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 "greatest living soccer players" chosen by Pelé to celebrate the 100th anniversary of FIFA.
About ADRA:
Established in 1956, ADRA is a global humanitarian organization that provides disaster relief and assistance for sustainable development to vulnerable communities in more than 135 countries. For more than 60 years, ADRA has been committed to working with communities around the world to improve their quality of life, and create positive change for those living in poverty and anguish.
ADRA’s partners include: U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the U.N.’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF), U.N’s World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), the United States Agency for International Development Food for Peace (USAID FFP), and the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) among many others reputable global organizations, governments, corporations, community organizations and civil society groups.
For more information: www.ADRA.org
Facebook:
@joinADRA
Instagram: #adrainternational
