Shakira and Gerard Piqué host World Baby Shower to support UNICEF's work for children

NEW YORK/BARCELONA, 19 January 2015 – Singer-songwriter and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Shakira, and FC Barcelona soccer star Gerard Piqué, are celebrating the imminent arrival of their second child by expanding upon their original concept of a ‘World Baby Shower' to benefit UNICEF and vulnerable children around the world.  

After the success of the UNICEF baby shower for their first son, Milan, Shakira and Gerard decided to create a shareable shower available for any and all expectant mothers in the hopes of giving a greater purpose to other baby showers and helping those babies and mothers who need it most.

“Now that we are soon welcoming our second child we want to help other children around the world and also contribute to a long-lasting solution for getting children living in extreme poverty the supplies they need to survive,” said Shakira.

“We also want other parents to feel compelled to do the same,” Shakira added. “With the explosion of social media, celebrities aren't the only ones who have platforms that can reach mass audiences, and we want this movement to keep going long after our baby shower has ended, so we want to invite them to host their own baby showers with UNICEF as well."

Fans of the expectant couple will be invited to share in their event by visiting a special website featuring ‘Inspired Gifts' that directly benefit UNICEF's work for children in some of the poorest and remotest places on earth. 

In an exclusive post on her social media page, Shakira revealed the inspiration behind creating a platform where every expectant mother can help make an impact in saving and improving lives of children around the world.

“Every woman who's expecting has the power to use the blessing of her child's imminent birth to save the lives of other, less fortunate children around the world.  If every expectant mother having a baby shower decided to include among her gift registry some of these “inspired gifts” that UNICEF offers, we could collectively save the lives of hundreds of thousands of children all over the globe.”

Among the 10 Inspired Gifts fans can purchase as part of the World Baby Shower are midwifery kits with medical equipment for safe delivery of 50 babies, measles and polio vaccines, blankets, and baby scales. Other gifts include a soccer ball – recognizing the power of sport and play in creating a happy, healthy childhood – and a storybook to nurture a love of reading and learning. 

Shakira and Gerard are urging other expectant parents to host their own virtual baby showers and engage their own families, friends, and followers to support UNICEF's work for children. Just visit worldbabyshower.org.

Baby showers are popular in many countries as a way of celebrating the pending or recent birth of a child by presenting gifts to the mother. The celebrity couple's first virtual World Baby Shower to benefit UNICEF's mission for children was held from 16 January to 15 February 2013, to mark the birth of their son, Milan. As a result, over 80,000 children were vaccinated against polio; nearly 4 tons of therapeutic food helped children suffering from malnutrition; and around 1,000 anti-malaria bed nets and nearly 200,000 oral rehydration salts sachets were distributed. 

The gifts from the World Baby Shower have the potential to save the life of a mother or a child. Despite great progress in reducing the child mortality rate, 6.3 million children under the age of five still die every year from largely preventable causes. Among these are 2.9 million newborns who die in the first month of life. And every day, millions of mothers give birth without adequate equipment, medicines or support services.  

UNICEF Inspired Gifts is an innovative programme that provides the public the opportunity to purchase actual lifesaving items that are shipped directly from either the UNICEF warehouse in Copenhagen or one of UNICEF's many suppliers to one of over 150 countries or territories where UNICEF works.