FINNAIR AND UNICEF HELP AIDS CHILDREN IN VIETNAM

Finnair's and UNICEF's Change for Good campaign has a new objective beginning from 2006. Funds are being collected for Vietnamese children affected by HIV-AIDS for the next three years.

Finnair wants to make a difference in the areas where it has activities itself. Finnair operates leisure flights in the winter to Vietnam.

In 2005 there were approximately 263 000 HIV positive people in Vietnam of whom a tenth were under 19. In seven years the number of pregnant women with the infection has increased tenfold. HIV and AIDS are estimated to affect the lives of almost 300 000 children. In AIDS work a small sum goes a long way: a vaccine that prevents a mother from passing HIV-AIDS to a child during birth costs only four euros.

Passengers have been able to participate in the campaign mainly on Finnair's international flights. The campaign has been promoted through in-flight videos and announcements. In addition, UNICEF collection boxes have been placed in some Finnair operating points. The latest campaign was organised in Christmas 2006. Finnair has also been contributing equivalent sums for Christmas presents and cards to Change for Good for some years.

Finnair has been co-operating with UNICEF with Change for Good for 11 years running. In 1994 and 1996 the funds were used for the children of war-torn Ruanda. In 1998 the target was the drug-related problems of the youth of Kaliningrad, while the youngsters of Kosovo benefited in 1999 and support was given to the children of Ethiopia in 2000.

Between 2001-2005 the aim was to support the education of the young girls in Nepal. The proceeds of the UNICEF Finland-Finnair campaign in Nepal enabled 19,050 girls to start school, 20 schools to be repaired, 351 teachers to be trained and 18 children's clubs, where children learn useful skills, to be established.

Change for Good has been the official charity campaign for the oneworld global airline alliance, of which Finnair is a member, since 1999.