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Elton John has announced the launch of a new $1 million emergency fund to protect those who have HIV during the COVID-19 epidemic.
The fund has been made available by his nonprofit organisation the Elton John Aids Foundation, and currently open to applications.
They say they are seeking “solutions that have strong potential to address specific challenges that have arisen for people already living with or at severe risk of HIV/AIDS and who are now at heightened risk as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Today, I’m proud to announce that my Foundation @EJAF is launching a $1million COVID-19 Emergency Fund to make sure that our frontline partners can respond to the effects of COVID-19 on HIV care for the most marginalised communities around the world. pic.twitter.com/g4wh9dnd3d
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) April 4, 2020
In a video posted to Twitter, John said: “For almost 30 years my foundation has prioritised the most vulnerable people to HIV, to end the AIDS epidemic and we’re committed to this during the COVID-19 crisis too.”
“Distributing medicines, testing and preventive treatment is not as simple as it was a few weeks ago, so our new Covid-19 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 marginalised communities.”
He continued: “We must keep up momentum or else the results could be disastrous for people living with HIV and other infectious diseases. We are with you, we are thinking of you, we will not leave anyone behind.”
Meanwhile, John was also among a number of high-profile music stars taking part in a video in which celebrities thanked NHS frontline workers for their efforts battling the coronavirus.
John joined the likes of Paul McCartney, Stormzy, Daniel Craig, David Beckham, Kylie Minogue and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
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