In a statement published in The Guardian, singer and AIDS activist Sir Elton John urges UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to honor his and other leaders’ promise to triple contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
At the G8 summit in June, global leaders agreed to triple funding to ensure that HIV/AIDS treatment is available to all who need it by 2010. John, who started the Elton John AIDS Foundation 14 years ago, says that Brown’s leadership in honoring this promise will challenge other countries—such as Canada, France Germany, Japan and the U.S.—to follow.
“These decisions directly affect whether people live or die,” John says. “And I urge the British government to take a lead in ensuring these promises are kept. Honor the pledge.”
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
