Alicia Keys backing women's HIV education scheme

Alicia Keys met with women suffering from HIV at a Washington, D.C. health centre on Monday (15Apr13) to discuss the stigma and fear associated with the disease as part of her latest charity initiative.

The Fallin' hitmaker is working with the Kaiser Family Foundation on its Empowered campaign, which was launched last month (Mar13) to educate women about the condition.

The Grammy Award-winning singer met with women being treated for HIV at the United Medical Center in the capital, and insisted she felt connected to the patients because "they looked like they could be my sister, or they could be my aunt, or they could be my cousin".

The singer is also leading the foundation's Empowered Community Grants initiative, which hands out grants of up to $25,000 to community-level projects focusing on women and HIV in association with the AIDS United organisation.