Annie Lennox - Sing

After personally witnessing Nelson Mandela describe the African HIV pandemic as a genocide, with women and children becoming the frontline victims, Annie Lennox set out to try and do something about it.

That is how the SING campaign started. To raise funds and awareness to bring about support and change.

The money raised by SING helps prevent the spread of HIV in South Africa, and also supports those currently living with HIV.

The awareness it raises is just as valuable - education is a powerful tool.

Comic Relief manages the SING fund, and assists in co-ordinating the SING campaign.

WHY IS IT CALLED SING?

The stigma of HIV is so high that people are afraid to talk openly about the issue, or  is close their status. South Africa has a tradition of activist songs and singing, as a way to create solidarity and communicate messages.

When people get together to sing, they become encouraged and inspired. In the words of Nelson Mandela: "Let us use the universal language of music, to sing out our message around the world."

As one of the world's most renowned singer songwriters, Annie Lennox decided to write an anthem that could be used as a symbol of unity and empowerment, and help spread the message to the world.

In the spring of 2007, she invited 23 of the most internationally acclaimed female artists to record their voices on "SING". The recording incorporates the South African activist song, JIKELELE, which means global treatment. JIKELELE was written and recorded by The Generics, who are all members of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), the main beneficiary of SING funds. JIKELE calls for the implementation of the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission programme across South Africa.

Watch the SING video here

Annie was first invited to Cape Town in 2003, to take part in the inaugural concert of Nelson Mandela's 46664 HIV campaign. It was there that she witnessed first hand the plight of people struggling to cope with the situation - in clinics, orphanages, hospitals and townships.

After years of fighting and winning the struggle against apartheid, the South African people are being devastated by a pandemic which has wiped out a generation of men, women and children.

The country has one of the world's highest HIV prevalence rates, and a third of all pregnant women are HIV positive. Many still do not have access to the medication and support that can prevent mothers passing the virus to their unborn babies.

Whilst in South Africa, Annie had the opportunity to meet Zackie Achmat, the founder of TAC, an exceptional grassroots network working across the entire nation. Eighty per cent of TAC members are women.

WHAT IS THE MONEY SPENT ON?

All the money generated by Annie Lennox and the Sing campaign goes to projects that fight HIV in South Africa. Here are some examples of how that money is spent:

Funding for a £300,000 grant  to TAC over three years has come from the SING fund, underwritten by Comic Relief. TAC's work includes programmes that:

• help people get access to testing and treatment
• educate South Africans about HIV
• prevent further transmission

TAC is also a strong advocate for women's rights, and lobbies pharmaceutical companies and the government about treatment costs and policies.

More money has been pledged to TAC via the SING campaign in the coming
months. Read more about TAC here.

Annie's performance at the television charity event Spendenmarathon in Germany in November 2008 raised hundreds of thousands of euros for the Vrygrond Community Development Trust , which in conjunction with the Elton John Aids Foundation will use the money to build a community day care centre in Capetown. The centre will provide care and support for those affected by HIV, vulnerable children and caregivers.

HOW MUCH HAS BEEN RAISED SO FAR?

Here are some further examples of the sums of money raised by Annie and the SING campaign.

Sales of the SING record and associated merchandise have raised over £100,000 so far.

At the 20th anniversary of Elle magazine in Berlin in July 2008, an auction raised UR20,000 for the SING campaign.

After Annie appeared on Idol Gives Back, the charity spin-off of American Idol in the United States, they made a donation of $500,000 directly to TAC.

All this adds up to hundreds of thousands of pounds – money generated by Annie personally, and by the SING campaign. Every penny lessens the grip that HIV has on South Africa.