Moore no more: Remembering Bond’s visit to India

Actor Roger Moore (above), known for portraying the role of James Bond in seven of the Bond films, died on May 23, aged 89 battling cancer. The actor had visited India, in 2005, as the UNICEF goodwill ambassador and had spoken about the need to eliminate iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit. At the Summit, Moore had spoken about the “anticipated victory over IDD” as one of the greatest public health triumphs in history. Its deficiency during pregnancy or early childhood is the largest cause of preventable mental retardation among children. He said, “Every minute, 20 children die before reaching their fifth birthday. It is as if a tsunami is striking or an earthquake is killing more than 40,000 children every day. These emergencies must be addressed.” Moore extolled India with its high importance given to public health for successfully eradicating small pox and guinea worm. “India can eliminate IDD if all of you come together in partnership and decide to get the job done,” he said. He had spoken about how he was motivated to join the UNICEF after friend, actor Audrey Hepburn first involved him with children’s issues. She asked him if he would join her in The Hague for a conference. “Don’t worry, they won’t want to talk to you about children, they’ll talk to you about movies,” she had told him. Moore said, “Audrey spoke with such passion that I was awestruck.” Expanding on the Summit’s theme of ‘Building a Better Future’, Moore had said that no future could be built without investing in children. This meant giving them the best possible start in life, ensuring quality education, protecting children against HIV/AIDS and shielding them against violence, abuse and exploitation. He said, “There can be no peace, no sustainable development, without uttering children first. Children don’t have organised lobbies to voice their views. It’s important for the civil society to stand up and end these emergencies.”