Elton’s 750,000 euro HIV donation not spent

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A 750,000 euro donation from Elton John to combat HIV in Ireland has not been spent, it has emerged.

The singer gave the money to the government two years ago to be used in a clean needle project for drug addicts.

But the Irish Independent reports that the project has stalled and the money has not been used.

The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) has now said it will withhold the funding if progress is not made and has asked for regular reports and reviews of the scheme’s work.

Outside Dublin, Ireland has no provisions for clean needle exchanges and numbers of heroin addicts being diagnosed with HIV are rising.

John has said he launched EJAF in 1992 partly out of guilt after losing 60 friends to AIDS.