Charlize Theron recently spoke to CNN about giving back to her country by means of her activism, in conjunction with the Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust.
Charlize spoke with CNN on their African Voices segment, where she talked about her connection to South Africa.
“I feel like I am made in this land, no matter where I live or travel. There is a connection so deep to my people and my country – this country – that will never go away,” said Charlize.
CNN had the opportunity to catch up with her in KwaZulu-Natal, where she was working as an advocate for the Global Fund. Her work in South Africa includes bring attention to issues such as tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS.
“This is a disease that has caused devastation. If you talk about anything that is plausible, 20 years ago no one would have believed it. So we have come a long way, because of all these tools that we have, but I think my passion with the Global Fund has become increasingly stronger, because we are so incredibly close,” says Charlize on her work with the Global Fund on eradicating HIV infections in South Africa.
“We are in a very, very dangerous period right now, where I think, because of our successes, South Africa has had a 63% drop in new infections when it comes to children under the age of fourteen. It’s a huge success to celebrate and we dropped tremendously when it comes to mother to child transmission. We have the biggest ARV program in the world. These are all the things to be incredibly proud of.” 
“I think people look at these numbers and get kind of relaxed and complacent about them. And so my passion to work with Global Fund has increased, because it is a dangerous time and it’s a great opportunity to push forward, because I think a huge misconception is that 60% is okay and the problem with that is not having it be 100%.”
For information on the Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust, visit www.hillaids.org.za. Contact them on 031 765 5866 or send an email to info@hillaids.org.za.