Government of Canada supports community-based projects addressing HIV, Hepatitis C, and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections

OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 23, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, announced more than $9.5 million in funding through the HIV and Hepatitis C Community Action Fund (CAF) and the Harm Reduction Fund (HRF) for 12 projects to support the work of community-based organizations addressing HIV, hepatitis C and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI) throughout the Atlantic region.

STBBI are preventable, treatable and in many cases curable. However, these infections remain a significant public health concern in Canada, especially among Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ+, and other equity-deserving communities. Today's funding includes more than $6.6 million through the CAF, which will support 7 community-based interventions to address HIV, hepatitis C and other STBBI. For example, the Getting to Zero project by the AIDS Committee of Newfoundland and Labrador Inc will use a layered approach to address challenges related to HIV, hepatitis C, and other STBBI risks for key populations in Newfoundland and Labrador. It also aims to expand access to quality, evidence-based education and services, and increase the public's knowledge and awareness on transmission and testing options.

This announcement also includes more than $2.9 million through the HRF, which will support 5 projects to help reduce HIV and hepatitis C among people who share injection and inhalation drug-use equipment. One project receiving funding under the HRF is the John Howard Society of Southeastern New Brunswick Inc. This project in Moncton, New Brunswick will build on existing mobile outreach services provided by the organization and community partners by expanding the reach and capacity of a peer-led outreach team into rural communities surrounding the Greater Moncton Area. This peer-based outreach program will use an integrated design to reduce stigmatization and discrimination, and reduce barriers to accessing services needed for people who use drugs and/or experience homelessness.

Initially announced in August 2022 at the 24^th annual International AIDS Conference, the HIV self-test initiative is bolstered by an additional $8.6 million. This funding provides support to 50 community-based organizations through March 2024 to offset costs associated with efforts to distribute the HIV self-test kits to their key populations. Self-test kits offer a safe, reliable, anonymous and confidential way for people to determine their infection status. They are an important tool for combatting the stigma and discrimination that present barriers to care.

The Government of Canada is committed to working with and supporting community-based organizations, Indigenous partners, provinces and territories, researchers, public health, and the health sector to prevent new infections and support the global goal of ending HIV, hepatitis C and other STBBI as public health concerns.

"The contributions of community-based organizations are central to improving the health of people in Canada who have HIV and promoting culturally safe community-led models to increase testing in remote, rural and northern settings. The funding announced today supports projects that will engage with people living with HIV, hepatitis C and other STBBI, as well as those at risk of infection, to help communities meet their prevention, testing, treatment, and support needs."

The Honourable Mark Holland
Minister of Health

"The Government of Canada is committed to supporting the contributions of community-based organizations to improve the health of people in Canada, and to help those disproportionally affected key populations known to be more adversely affected by STBBI such as people who use drugs. The projects announced under the Harm Reduction Fund help community-based efforts to reduce stigma toward these populations, to prevent new and reoccurring infections and connect people to testing, prevention, treatment and care."  

The Honourable Ya'ara Saks
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, and Associate Minister of Health

"Community-based organizations play a critical role in engaging with people living with HIV, hepatitis C and other STBBI, and those at risk of infection, to help meet their prevention, testing, treatment, and support needs. These investments support homegrown approaches addressing the realities we face here in St. John's, throughout Newfoundland and Labrador as well as the Atlantic provinces."

Joanne Thompson
Member of Parliament for St. John's East

• In 2022, the Government of Canada invested $106.4 million to help address STBBI across Canada.
• This funding includes $46.2 million under the Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada, and $8.9 million under the Hepatitis C Prevention, Support and Research Program.
• Through the HIV and Hepatitis C Community Action Fund, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) invests $26.4 million annually to support time-limited projects (up to 5 years) across Canada to address HIV, hepatitis C and other sexually transmitted infections (e.g., chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis).
• Through the Harm Reduction Fund, PHAC invests $7 million annually to support time-limited projects (3 to 5 years) across Canada that will help reduce HIV and hepatitis C among people who share injection and inhalation drug-use equipment.
• On August 1, 2022, the Government of Canada announced $17.9 million in time-limited funding (2022-2023) to improve access to testing, including $8 million to community-based organizations to support their capacity to distribute and promote HIV self-tests and link people to care. An additional $9.9 million was provided to the National Microbiology Laboratory to expand community-based testing in northern, remote, and isolated communities including $1.2 million to the BC Centre for Disease Control and BC's First Nations Health Authority to build on previous community-based testing initiatives, including testing for STBBI.
• Efforts to address STBBI in Canada are guided by the Pan-Canadian Framework for Action on STBBI and the Government of Canada Five Year Action Plan on STBBI (Action Plan).

• Backgrounder: Government of Canada supports community-based projects addressing HIV, Hepatitis C, and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections

• HIV and Hepatitis C Community Action Fund
• Harm Reduction Fund
• Accelerating our response: Government of Canada five-year action plan on sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections

SOURCE Public Health Agency of Canada