Minister Petitpas Taylor marks World AIDS Day with investments of $36.4 million in projects to help eliminate AIDS

OTTAWA, Dec. 1, 2017 /CNW/ - World AIDS Day is a reminder that HIV/AIDS remains a persistent health issue in Canada and around the world. In Canada, an estimated 65,000 people are living with HIV and AIDS and there are approximately 2,500 new HIV infections every year. Canada has made great progress in addressing HIV/AIDS in the last three decades; however, there is still work to do to help reach the goal of eliminating AIDS as a global public health threat by 2030.

Today, the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health, announced a $26.4 million investment for 84 projects involving 122 organizations for up to five years. Through targeted prevention interventions focused on priority populations in Canada, these projects will help to prevent HIV, Hepatitis C and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs).

Minister Petitpas Taylor also announced almost $10 million for five research teams that will investigate HIV program implementation and improvements across multiple diverse communities. One of the research projects will focus exclusively on adapting and expanding an on-reserve HIV testing and treatment initiative for First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities with the greatest need.

Quotes

"Our government is committed to eliminating HIV and AIDS as global public health threats. The important research and community-based projects across Canada announced today reflect our renewed focus on supporting evidence-based prevention, reducing stigma and discrimination, and increasing access to testing and treatment for HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections. We will continue to collaborate with our partners to reduce new HIV infections and improve the lives of those living with HIV."

The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Health

"I thank all those in Canada who devote their time and effort to addressing HIV/AIDS. Together, with our partners, the Public Health Agency of Canada is working to find ways to make HIV prevention, testing and treatment more accessible and culturally safe for all people in Canada. Through our collective effort, we can end HIV as a public health threat and achieve the global goal of eliminating AIDS by 2030."

Dr. Theresa Tam
Chief Public Health Officer of Canada

"I wish to congratulate the researchers whose work aims to improve HIV prevention, testing and treatment. The innovative projects announced today will help provide tangible solutions to people most at risk of contracting HIV across the country. CIHR is delighted to collaborate with other key organizations dedicated to eliminating HIV in Canada and to contributing to an end to the AIDS epidemic globally."

Marc Ouellette
Scientific Director, CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity

"The Canadian Positive People Network will be better equipped to practically apply the GIPA/MEPA/MIWA principle with and on behalf of people living with HIV and HIV co-infections. This project funding is a clear indication that the Public Health Agency of Canada understands the critical role we, as people with living and lived experience, play in Canada's response to HIV and other STBBIs here at home and around the world."

Jeff Potts
Executive Director of the Canadian Positive People Network

"Gay, bi and other men who have sex with men continue to be the population most impacted by HIV/AIDS in Canada. As an agency dedicated to gay men's health promotion, we are excited to be working with the Public Health Agency of Canada to strengthen Canada's response to HIV. Community-Based Research Centre for Gay Men's Health will use this new funding to increase access and uptake of combination prevention tools, so that Canada might see the same decreases in new HIV infections as seen in London and San Francisco."

Jody Jollimore
Managing Director, Community Based Research Centre

"We're looking forward to contributing to a national response to HIV and HepC that looks holistically at the sexual health and rights needs of key populations living with or affected by HIV. This is an approach that is integral to achieving health and equity and contributes to the upstream prevention of STBBIs, including HIV. In this spirit, our project with PHAC will encourage and support STBBI testing among youth from marginalized populations including gay men, ethnocultural and transgender populations."

Sandeep Prasad
Executive Director, Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights

"The Canadian Public Health Association is proud to partner with the Public Health Agency of Canada through the Community Action Fund to help decrease HIV-related stigma in health and social service sectors, and in turn improve access to life-changing services for people living with or at-risk of HIV. Service providers play an important role to ensure people have access to prevention, testing, treatment and support services that are welcoming and non-stigmatizing, and that allow them to achieve better health outcomes. Reducing stigma will help increase the positive impacts prevention and support efforts have had across Canada, and contribute to achieving global targets."

Ian Culbert
Executive Director, Canadian Public Health Association

Quick Facts

• Based on available data in Canada, an estimated 80% of HIV-infected people have been diagnosed, 76% of those diagnosed are on treatment, and 89% of those on treatment have suppressed viral loads.
• With increased access to antiretroviral treatment, people living with HIV today can live fuller and healthier lives.
• Worldwide, there were about 1.8 million new cases of HIV in 2016. About 36.7 million people were living with HIV around the world in 2016, and 19.5 million of them were receiving antiretroviral therapy.

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Associated Links

HIV and Hepatitis C Community Action Fund
HIV and AIDS 
Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada 
CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Advisory Committee (CHARAC) 
CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Initiative: Strategic plan (2015-2020) 
CIHR Featured Researchers

SOURCE Public Health Agency of Canada