Fauci awarded Lifetime Achievement Award for HIV/AIDS work by Elton John

Top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci was awarded for his work fighting the global HIV/AIDS crisis during a virtual ceremony hosted by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition on Tuesday.

Elton John, who has been an advocate for preventing HIV/AIDS infections and ending the stigma surrounding them through his nonprofit, presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Fauci during the ceremony on World AIDS Day and praised him for helping others.

“There are very few people on this planet who have dedicated themselves to a lifetime of service to save millions of lives like Dr. Fauci,” the singer said, according to CNN. “His unwavering commitment to public health and innovation has transformed the approach to HIV. And it is his leadership and persistence that will ultimately help us overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Fauci served as the National Institutes of Health’s AIDS coordinator and later became the first director of the NIH’s Office of AIDS Research, a position he held from 1988 to 1994, CNN noted.

In a video that was streamed during Tuesday’s event, Fauci recalled the early years of the epidemic. He said that he remembered not being able to provide sufficient care to his patients and seeing them die because drugs for HIV/AIDS were not yet available, according to the network.