May 22, 2009  |  By: Matt Schafer  | COMMENTS     

ATLANTA — After decades of attempting to hide his pain in alcohol, drugs and expansive stage personalities, Elton John admits he is an expert at denying reality. Now he’s accusing government and industry of ignoring the realities of the HIV pandemic.

“There is no question that it can be the hardest thing in the world to confront reality. I know this from personal experience, but confronting reality can be the first step to changing it,” John said.

In his keynote address Tuesday at the 2009 BIO International Convention at the Georgia World Congress Center, John said more work must be done. The May 18-22 conference was expected to draw 12,000 researchers across a spectrum of biotech companies from 48 states and 60 countries.

John, founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, encouraged the scientists to see the world as it is and fight for change.

“I often have to stop myself and ask why is it left to my foundation, and others like it, to address this global issue of existential consequence,” John said. “The answer, in short, is that collectively the world’s government and industries are too often ignoring reality, and this creates a gap between what government and industries are doing to reverse the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and what they should be doing.”

John called for education and freer distribution of condoms and needles for intravenous drug users. He told conference attendees that once he stopped denying reality, he saw he needed to improve his own efforts to stem the effects of HIV.

“I created the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992 quite simply because I needed to face the reality that during the 1980s, I should have been on the front lines,” he said. “I should have spoken out; I should have done more. I did not, and I am ashamed, and so today I do whatever I can by raising awareness, funding and hope.”

John said there is a gap between what the biotech industry is doing and what he believes it must do in order to stem the spread of HIV.

“First, we must face this reality of this epidemic in a way that we have never done. Second, we must align ourselves with these priorities with the reality today,” he said. “I am asking you for leadership on both of these critical actions and to urgently address three realities in particular. The first of these is these is that 1 million Americans are living with HIV and more than 500,000 lack the necessary treatment they need to stay alive.”

John cited a Centers for Disease Control & Prevention report that showed there were 40 percent more HIV infections in the U.S. than previously thought, and African-American men in New York City had infection rates similar to sub-Saharan Africa.

“The second reality I must address is that marginalized populations continue to suffer disproportionately from HIV/AIDS regardless of whether those populations happen to be in South Africa, Europe or North America.”

John also noted a declining number of Americans consider HIV a pressing healthcare problem.

“My friends, these are the facts we must face in order to make progress against this epidemic, and these facts raise some very sensitive and complicated issues,” he said. “Prostitution, injection drug use, HIV incidents among incarcerated population — these are issues more easily ignored than addressed. Issues of race, gender and sexuality are difficult and uncomfortable for many to address as well, especially when we must discuss some of these issues with our children and our schools.”

John implored the researchers to do more to bring about the eradication of HIV, not just through research, but also through larger community efforts.

“The reality we face is this: Despite our many advances and despite your laudable work, HIV/AIDS is still winning,” he said. “It continues to devastate countries in the developing world, but the epidemic is also worse than we thought in this very city, and in this very country, the richest and most powerful on Earth. This is a reality that too many are ignoring, it is a reality that I think about every day, and it is a reality that I believe we can change with your leadership.”