Annie Lennox: Why I’m an HIV/Aids Activist

For the last eight years, pop singer Annie Lennox has devoted the majority of her time to her SING campaign, raising awareness and money to combat HIV/AIDS. She shares the experiences that have inspired her, from working with Nelson Mandela to meeting a little African girl in a desperate situation.

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ABOUT Annie Lennox

“After decades of global fame as part of Eurythmics and as a solo artist, Annie Lennox was moved by Nelson Mandela’s call to stop the HIV/AIDS pandemic in South Africa, where it disproportionately affects women and children.

She founded the SING campaign in 2007 to raise both awareness and money. “This is an illness that has a lot of stigma,” Lennox says on her video blog. “What we need to do is normalise HIV.”

Drawing on her talents, she combines music and film to put a human face on the crisis and emotionally connect people to the cause. South Africa has a tradition of activist songs and singing; inspired by this, in spring 2007 Annie invited 23 female artists to record the benefit single ‘Sing’.

The record incorporates the South African activist song ‘Jikelele’, which means ‘global treatment’. So far, sales of ‘Sing’ have raised 100,000 pounds, while other appearances since then have multiplied that sum.

SING’s money goes to support efforts such as the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), that works to fight mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Annie is active in many other causes, both personal and political; in 2008 she was awarded the Services to Humanity Award by the British Red Cross.”

The VIDEO