Elton John announced Saturday that his eponymous AIDS foundation has created a $1 million U.S. emergency fund to protect people with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The results could be disastrous for people living with HIV and other infectious diseases,” John noted, in a video message he shared via social media.
“For almost 30 years my foundation has prioritized the most vulnerable people to HIV, to end the AIDS epidemic,” he explained, “and we’re committed to this during the COVID-19 crisis, too.”
John said “distributing medicines, testing and preventive treatment is not as simple as it was a few weeks ago” and explained that the emergency fund “will help frontline partners to prepare for and respond to the pandemic and its effects on HIV prevention and care for the most marginalized communities.”
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Set up in 1992, the Elton John AIDS Foundation has raised more than $400 million. It is chaired by John’s Toronto-born husband David Furnish and counts music stars like Sting, James Blunt and Annie Lennox among its patrons.
A week ago, John hosted the iHeart Living Room Concert for America, which raised more than $10 million U.S. for two COVID-19 relief charities as well as nearly $445,000 for the Canadian Red Cross.
John, 73, ended his message Saturday with a promise to those living with HIV during the COVID-19 crisis.
“We’re with you, we’re thinking of you, we will not leave anyone behind,” he said.