Orange Joins RED Revolution to Help Fight AIDS in Africa

Orange is to sell a specially-developed Motorola phone in support of the (PRODUCT) RED brand which funds the Global Fund to help eliminate AIDS in Africa.

Along with other UK mobile operators and independent retailer Carphone Warehouse, Orange stores will shortly be stocking the ultra slim, ultra chic red MOTOSLVR, the first of a new (MOTO) RED portfolio being launched by Motorola in support of the Africa funding initiative. The phone will also be sold through our online, direct sales and upgrade channels.

The red MOTOSLVR enables our customers to contribute to the fight against AIDS and HIV in Africa. Put simply, every time a customer makes a call from their RED phone, 5% of the revenue from that call will be donated by Orange to the cause. £10 from each handset sale will also be donated.

The (PRODUCT) RED brand already includes products from well-known brands such as American Express, Gap, Converse and Giorgio Armani. It was launched at the World Economic Forum in January this year by U2 lead singer and campaigner Bono and Bobby Shriver, Chairman of Data - the 'Debt Aids Trade Africa' organisation which campaigns for resources to be directed to Africa. RED branded products are intended to deliver a sustainable flow of private sector money to the Global Fund to fight AIDS.

Thanks to the involvement by Orange, Motorola and the UK telecommunications industry, mobile phone users will be able to contribute to the fight against AIDS in Africa with every call, text and download they make.

As well Orange, supporters of the red-branded mobile phone initiative include BT Mobile, Carphone Warehouse, Fresh, O2, Tesco Mobile, T-Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone.

Ron Garriques, president of Motorola Mobile Devices, said: ""With our new red model, MOTOSLVR will help change the way people think about AIDS in Africa. We're literally placing in people's hands an opportunity to help find a solution.""

Figures from the Global Fund show the contribution each (MOTO) RED connection can make. The proceeds of selling just three handsets can provide a year's worth of school materials and daily hot meals for a child orphaned by AIDS, while 5% of the average yearly phone bill can provide 180 treatments to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a global public-private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. It's a partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities which provides a new approach to international health financing. It works closely with other bilateral and multilateral organisations to supplement existing efforts to deal with three diseases which together kill more than 6 million people per year

Orange Chief Executive Officer Sanjiv Ahuja said

""Orange is proud and excited to be involved in the RED initiative. This unprecedented collaboration gives us an opportunity to use our collective power to make a positive difference and unite behind a single, common goal - to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. The work that everyone has done across the industry to make this happen has been incredible, but it's only just begun. We look forward to making RED a huge success within mobile - one of the most powerful, influential and culturally significant industries in the world.""