Sir Elton John and David Furnish Visit Washington, DC, for Talks with Secretary of State John Kerry and Human Rights Campaign Event

Elton John AIDS Foundation leaders to discuss PEPFAR collaboration with Kerry?, Receive award and announce grant to the Human Rights Campaign?

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Elton John AIDS Foundation

Oct 27, 2014, 11:04 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Sir Elton John and David Furnish, the Founder and Chairman, respectively, of the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), were in Washington, DC, last Friday for a meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry. Discussions with Secretary Kerry centered on EJAF's new collaborative arrangement with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to conduct a national program in South Africa focused on men who have sex with men (MSM).

 "The incidence of HIV among MSM is greater than the general population in all regions across the world, including South Africa, the nation hardest hit by HIV," said Furnish. "This disparity is primarily due to the stigma and discrimination faced by MSM, which discourages and excludes them from the HIV services, if any, available to the population at large."  

EJAF's envisions its collaboration with PEPFAR in South Africa as a prelude to additional collaborations in other countries, such as Nigeria and Ethiopia.

"At the Elton John AIDS Foundation, we are convinced that specialized MSM programs should be a part of every national strategic plan to combat HIV," said Sir Elton. "This belief and vision is what led us to design Health4Men, the first program of its kind in the world. With an initial commitment of $7 million from EJAF and PEPFAR, Health4Men will leverage support from the Global Fund and the South African Department of Health to provide a set of targeted interventions for MSM. These interventions will be aimed at preventing new HIV infections and treating existing infections, thereby leading to a reduction in the number of HIV-related deaths among MSM."  

On Saturday, October 25, Sir Elton John and David Furnish received the Human Rights Campaign (HRC)'s National Equality Award at the 18th annual HRC National Dinner. At the dinner, Sir Elton announced a $300,000 grant from EJAF to HRC for a national program to increase awareness of HIV prevention, treatment and care among LGBT people—with a specific focus on young gay and bisexual men and transgender women."

We are truly grateful for the leadership of the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the opportunity we now have to greatly expand our efforts around HIV/AIDS education and advocacy," said Jeff Krehely, HRC's Vice President & Chief Foundation Officer. "The grant will make a profound difference to the lives of countless people, especially the members of our community who are disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS and the stigma surrounding the disease."  

About the Elton John AIDS Foundation  

At the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) we believe that AIDS can be beaten. We act on that belief by raising funds for effective programs and policies, and also by speaking out with honesty and compassion about the realities of people's lives. Sir Elton John created EJAF over twenty years ago, first in the United States in 1992 and then in the United Kingdom in 1993. Through hard work and with the help of our network of kind, amazing, creative, and generous friends and supporters, the two foundations together have raised more than $300 million over the past two decades to combat stigma, prevent infections, provide treatment and services, and motivate governments to end AIDS. The U.S. foundation focuses its efforts on programs in the United States, the Americas, and the Caribbean, while the U.K. foundation funds HIV-related work in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Join us in speaking out, taking action, and contributing to our efforts to achieve a world without AIDS.

 For more information please visit www.ejaf.org  .

Follow EJAF on Facebook and Twitter.

American Airlines is the official sponsoring airline of the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

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SOURCE Elton John AIDS Foundation