Sir Elton John has called for Congress to do more to eradicate HIV and AIDS.
Sir Elton John
The 68-year-old singer spoke in the Senate yesterday (06.05.15) and though he credited US politicians with changing "the course of the AIDS epidemic ... for all of humanity," he insisted "the world has to step up and keep the funding flowing."
He added in an address to a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on global health: "This Congress indeed has the power to end AIDS."
Elton believes stigma is one of the main obstacles in overcoming the disease, explaining how some African societies marginalise gay citizens, hampering efforts to keep those with HIV/AIDS from receiving medication.
He said: "They go underground, and the disease is spread even further.
"[Jesus] would be appalled at the way people are being stigmatised."
The 'Rocket Man' hitmaker - who has sons Zachary, four, and Elijah, two, with husband David Furnish - went on to speak about his own experiences in the US to praise the generosity of Americans.
Referring to his friendship with a teenage AIDS victim, the British singer said: "This country gave everything to me as a professional. And it gave everything to me as a human being.
"I was a drug-addict. I was a self-obsessed a--hole, excuse me. And Ryan White and his wonderful family turned my life around."
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