Elton John takes motorcycles to Africa

Sir Elton John has donated 120 Honda CTX200s to medics in Lesotho, Africa, to help in the fight against Aids in the country.

The first 60 bikes have already been delivered, with the remainder due to be sent by end-February.

The donation was handled by Riders for Health and the Elton John Aids Foundation, a body set up by the singer in 1992 to fund Aids-relief projects globally. Riders is taking responsibility for training the medical staff to ride the bikes, and will also take care of maintaining the machines.

“Thanks to Riders, motorcycles really will be saving lives in Lesotho,” Mohale Moshoeshoe, operations director at Riders, says. “It is only thanks to the support of the motorcycling community that our work is able to attract the attention and backing of groups like the Elton John Aids Foundation.”

The bikes will be used to deliver anti-retroviral drugs and health education to remote communities in Lesotho, while also helping to provide home-based care for tuberculosis sufferers.