Activist and singer Annie Lennox paid a visit to the Scottish parliament earlier this week (March 14) in a bid to encourage them to do more to fight AIDS. 

Lennox, who is a United Nations AIDS ambassador, asked the crowd to find a "renewal of purpose" to help battle the disease and expressed her feelings of hopelessness after travelling to areas affected by it and witnessing the devastation first hand:

"I have visited child-headed households, where the most vulnerable children are left to fend for themselves, after their mother and father have passed away. I've visited clinics, children's homes and orphanages filled with babies and toddlers, many of whom wouldn't have a chance of survival beyond their fifth birthday."

The star added that although she feels overwhelmed by the cause, she knows she must stand up for it and try to make a difference:

"Sometimes I feel overwhelmed, and quite often despairing, but that doesn't mean that I can simply step back and walk away...I am asking everyone in this room to form a sense of renewal of purpose; to ask yourselves how we can connect to make a contribution, however large or small..."

"If my coming here today inspires just one individual to connect, and make a contribution whether it be the giving of time, sharing knowledge and experience or engaging in fundraising activities - it will have been worth it."

Watch her performance of 'Sisters' along with Katy B and Emeli Sandé at the 2012 WOW event in London here: