Today, Research Canada has prized Dr. Julio Montaner, Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, with their annual Leadership Award. Congratulations to Dr. Montaner on this recognition of his contribution to the health and well-being of Canadians!
The award is for individuals who are “instrumental in making global medical advancements and in ensuring Canadians are the healthiest people in the world.” It also recognizes the innovation, championing and advocacy required to make health research a priority, and to attract the necessary public and political support.
Dr. Montaner has been a tireless advocate for the implementation of Treatment as Prevention¨, which now forms the basis of the UNAIDS 90-90-90 strategy to end AIDS by 2030. The United Nations has adopted the same framework for one of their Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr. Montaner first introduced the TasP¨ concept to the world in 2006 at the International AIDS Society Conference held in Vancouver. TasP¨ is based on scientific evidence that HIV treatment reduces patients’ viral loads to undetectable. Once the virus is suppressed, the chance of transmitting HIV to others is negligible.
Informed by science, Dr. Montaner has long advocated for universal and immediate access to treatment for those diagnosed with HIV. As a result, TasP’s implementation in British Columbia (with support from the Government of BC) has led to significant declines in AIDS mortality and in new HIV cases-improving the health of those living with HIV, while curbing the spread of the disease. To this day, Dr. Montaner continues to call for more widespread access to HIV testing and treatment-from community-based settings to high-level government meetings and international conferences.
So far, BC is the only province to implement TasP¨ and the only one to see a consistent decline in new HIV cases. The BC-CfE is now applying the principles of TasP¨ to achieve targeted disease elimination of other communicable disease epidemics in the province, including hepatitis C and addiction.
Applying these innovative solutions will surely lead to continued progress for the health and well-being of many Canadians.