Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, has issued the following statement in recognition of World AIDS Day and Indigenous AIDS Awareness Week:
“Dec. 1 marks World AIDS Day and the beginning of Indigenous AIDS Awareness Week. It is time to renew our collective and personal commitment to supporting British Columbians living with HIV/AIDS and ensuring that they get the comprehensive, compassionate and culturally safe care they deserve.
“We also recommit to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the stigma that surrounds a diagnosis, which can prevent people from getting the care and support they need.
“Importantly, we continue to carry out this critical work in the memory of those we’ve lost to AIDS, whom we honour today.
“The theme of this year’s World AIDS Day is ‘Equalize.’ As persistent inequalities are hindering progress in eradicating AIDS, now more than ever we need to equalize access to essential HIV services, particularly for at-risk populations, such as 2SLGBTQ+ people, Indigenous people and people who use drugs.
“I’m incredibly proud of the work our province has done to ensure universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, testing and treatment services, but we can – and we will – do more and do better.
“One of our top priorities is creating greater awareness of HIV/AIDS among Indigenous people and continuing to work to eradicate Indigenous-specific racism and discrimination in health care, which, like stigma, acts as a barrier to people accessing care and has detrimental effects on their physical, mental and spiritual health.