Out singer Elton John this week called
on the inclusion of the LGBT community in the fight against AIDS.
“You leave no one behind in the human
race. You include them all. If you don't, this campaign to end AIDS
will be a disaster. All the ground work, all the wonderful
scientific work, all the hard work on the ground from countless
people all over the world will count for nothing, because if we leave
these people behind the disease will spread further and further and
further,” John said while speaking at the International AIDS
Conference in Durban, South Africa.
John is a prominent AIDS activist. In
1982, he established the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which has raised
more than $200 million to help end the disease.
(Related: Elton
John cheers Prince Harry's efforts to end HIV stigma.)
On Wednesday, the Elton John AIDS
Foundation and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
(PEPFAR) announced the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and the Global
Forum on MSM & HIV as the inaugural recipients of The LGBT Fund,
which aims to combat stigma, discrimination and violence faced by the
LGBT community.
“We're going to put [this money] to
good use,” John said. “We're going to help all the LGBT people
in countries that find it very difficult to be LGBT to know that we
are on their side. We will fight for them. We will fight for their
rights, their human rights, their health, everything. We will be
there for them, and we will battle every step of the way.”