HIV activists hope World AIDS Day will end regression to infectious diseases and stigma

HIV activists mark World AIDS Day by calling on Ottawa to help halt the ongoing global recession to stem infection and stigma.

“It is clear that this government has this issue under control, but the truth of the matter is that the movement is not happening fast enough for HIV-infected people living in Canada,” Toronto Network.

Public Health Canada estimates that 62,790 people were living with HIV in Canada in 2020, 10% of whom did not know they had the virus.

This represents a slight decrease in overall cases from 2018, but an increase in the most vulnerable cases.

Data show that indigenous peoples accounted for nearly one-fifth of new HIV infections in Canada in 2020. In that year, the proportion of infected women and injecting drug users increased, and the proportion of men who had sex with men decreased.

Proponents argue that the numbers reflect the uneven impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Butler-McPhee says both the Harper and Trudeau governments are funding grassroots groups to serve HIV patients who are not fully realized despite the added factors of the toxic drug crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. I pointed out that I promised

“We are talking about an organization that has had to make a pretty big turn and take on new work without the long-promised funding,” she said.

Meanwhile, Canada continues to lag behind other countries in criminalizing non-disclosure of HIV. Canadians with the virus could be prosecuted for not disclosing their condition to sexual partners, even if prescription drugs made it impossible to transmit the virus.

The Department of Justice said in October, “Criminalization can lead to stigma against people living with HIV and can often discourage individuals from being tested or seeking treatment.

The Liberal Party has promised to resolve the issue since 2016, but only started national consultations in October. They have also urged prosecutors to avoid convicting HIV-positive people in states, and have suggested states follow suit, with mixed success.

“For the last six years, this federal government has recognized that HIV criminalization is a problem in Canada, but there hasn’t been as much movement as we would like.” HIV Legal Network.

Abroad, the World Health Organization has warned that as countries target health systems to stem COVID-19 transmission, it will be difficult for people living with HIV to access treatments that control symptoms and stop the virus from progressing to AIDS. reported that there was confusion in

This is an ongoing impact towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of ending the spread of HIV-AIDS by 2030.

Before the pandemic, the United Nations Joint Program on AIDS reported a 68% decline in AIDS-related deaths from its 2004 peak, and a 52% decline since 2010.

Thursday is World AIDS Day, established annually by the United Nations since 1988. About 40 million people have died from the disease, including his 650,000 in 2021.

In this week’s report, the agency said inequalities, whether it be the presence of girls and women in schools or the continued stigma against men who have sex with men, undercut global goals. He said it would be possible.

Girls and women aged 15 to 24 in sub-Saharan Africa are three times more likely to be infected with HIV than men in the same age group, the agency reports.

Homosexuals and people engaged in sex work are more likely to avoid HIV testing if the country they live in criminalizes their behavior, according to the agency.

After months of fears that Ottawa would withdraw its funding, Canada was applauded in September for pledging $1.2 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

The move comes after the Liberal Party canceled a ministerial address to the International AIDS Conference in Montreal this summer.

At home, the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network claims that mainstream public awareness campaigns and access to HIV preventive medicines are not reaching indigenous communities, especially women.

The group’s Ojibwa activist, Trevor Stratton, said in an online panel Wednesday that Ottawa should launch an investigation into disproportionate HIV rates among its indigenous peoples.

“This is a national shame. When I travel abroad, I am actually ashamed to be a Canadian citizen,” he said.

This report by the Canadian Press was first published on December 1, 2022.