Actor Taron Egerton is hoping Evening Standard readers will today seize the chance to pay £5 so that thousands of people get the vital information they need to get tested to determine their HIV status.
The Robin Hood and Kingsman star is making the appeal in the fifth of our 12 Days of Christmas messages in support of the Evening Standard’s AIDSfree campaign, joining other celebrities such as James Corden and Victoria Beckham.
The AIDSfree appeal is raising money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation to boost awareness of HIV and fund access to testing and treatment, both in the UK and abroad.
Egerton, who is playing Sir Elton in the biopic Rocketman, said donations from as little as £5 will go towards getting as many people as possible educated about the risk of HIV, and testing.
The 29-year-old said: “It’s day five of the 12 Days of Christmas and I’m throwing my support behind the AIDSfree campaign.
“I am asking for your help and support with this.
“Five pounds is all it takes to make sure that someone gets the proper testing for HIV and AIDS and will hopefully help us end this awful disease.”
Globally, 37 million people are living with HIV; a figure that rose by 1.8 million people last year.
In the UK 15 people are infected every day on average.
Although HIV medical care is often both effective and affordable, around one in four people living with HIV don’t know their status because they haven’t been tested.
