Robbie's Mozambique mission

Robbie William is welcomed at a Mozambique HIV centre

Pop singer Robbie Williams has visited a HIV drop-in centre in Mozambique as part of his fact-finding mission to the country.

Over 700 people are infected with HIV every day in the African country, many are children.

The former Take That star visited a centre in the country's capital Maputo in a bid to raise awareness about the problem and more international aid to fight it.

His mission is to break the wall of silence

The BBC's Jane Standley

He has made the trip to Mozambique in his capacity as a "goodwill ambassador" for the United Nations' Children's Fund, Unicef.

The BBC's African correspondent Jane Standley is the only journalist to accompany him on his fact-finding mission.

She said his visit to the HIV centre on Friday was designed to highlight the great threat that is known in the country as the silent emergency of Aids.

"His mission is to break the wall of silence and lend support to the many who are coming to terms with infection," she added.

As well as visiting the centre, he has also been to see how people are recovering from floods that killed hundreds and left one million homeless.

The singer entertained on a school visit

The star had to fly by helicopter to some of the regions as bridges remain impassable and once fertile fields are still under water three months after the natural disaster struck.

In September 1998, he travelled to Sri Lanka to help publicise a campaign to rid the country of polio by taking part in a national immunisation day staged jointly by Unicef and the World Health Organisation.

Along with singer Ian Dury, who died earlier this year, he toured refugee camps and helped give children oral vaccination against the disease.