B.C. leading the way in HIV-AIDS fight, but other provinces slow to follow

published on November 28, 2012 in The Globe and Mail

B.C. is the only province where the rate of new HIV infections is falling steadily and markedly. B.C. is also the only province that offers highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) free of charge and aggressively promotes its use.

Coincidence? Not at all.

New research published in Wednesday’s edition of the medical journal Public Library of Science One shows that for every 10-per-cent increase in the number of HIV-positive patients taking HAART, new HIV diagnoses fell 8 per cent – pretty close to a perfect correlation.

hese are some of the most compelling data to date demonstrating the soundness of the “treatment as prevention” theory, an approach conceived at the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV-AIDS and now being embraced worldwide.

Treatment as prevention – or TaP for short, because in the world of HIV-AIDS, acronyms are de rigeur – is so successful, from Zimbabwe to Abbottsford, that policy-makers now talk openly about the possibility of freezing the epidemic in its tracks and creating an AIDS-free generation.

As is too often the case though, Canadians are slow to embrace Canadian innovation.

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(Please do not use any of these email addresses to send personal information or book an appointment. To book appointments or contact the H2H clinic, please call 604-416-1517 or fax: 604-564-4893. Do not send your or your client's personal information via email.)

© Copyright BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
St. Paul's Hospital 608–1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 1Y6
Tel: 604-806-8477 | Fax: 604-806-9044
General inquiries: info@bccfe.ca
Media inquiries: communications@bccfe.ca
(Please do not use any of these email addresses to send personal information or book an appointment. To book appointments or contact the H2H clinic, please call 604-416-1517 or fax: 604-564-4893. Do not send your or your client's personal information via email.)

Our work serves clients and communities across British Columbia on lands and waters cared for and nurtured by the many distinct First Nations across the province. The BC-CfE humbly and gratefully acknowledge the stewards of these lands, particularly the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) on whose unceded, traditional and ancestral territories our offices are located.