Neither shaken nor stirred, former James Bond Roger Moore in his avtaar as UNICEF goodwill ambassador spoke about the need to eliminate iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Recalling his earlier visits to India — once for the filming of Sea Wolves and more famously for the filming of Octopussy — Moore spoke about the “anticipated victory over IDD” as one of the greatest public health triumphs in history. Iodine deficiency during pregnancy or early childhood is the single largest cause of preventable mental retardation among children, he said. He spoke of the “silent emergencies” that affect children. “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 silent 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.

Moore spoke about how he was motivated to join the UNICEF after friend Audrey Hepburn first involved him with children's issues. The legendary Hollywood beauty 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 told him. But, he added, “Audrey spoke with such passion that I was awestruck.”

Expanding on the Summit's theme of ‘Building a Better Future’, Moore said 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. “There can be no peace, no security, no sustainable development without putting children first,” he said. And because children are children and don’t have organised lobbies to voice their views, it was important for civil society to stand up and end these “silent emergencies”, he added.