Time to see HIV and AIDS as any chronic disease to prevent stigmatisation

Do you remember the popular advertisement on HIV and AIDS on our television screens in the 90s?

If I remember correctly, it gave very scary statistics of the number of people who were to die daily from AIDS. Another advertisement also depicted people with AIDS as skeletons, while a lit candle was snuffed out to signify death, etc.

It simply meant if you had AIDS, there was no hope – you just died!

Years later in conversations with friends, we have wondered how true the statistics in that advertisement were – the usual comment we have all voiced out has been that if the figures in that advertisement were true, “most people would have been dead by now.”

Scary and fearful messages

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The manner in which the HIV and AIDS pandemic has been presented to us since its inception has turned the disease into a “monster” – a very frightening one such that efforts to make us see HIV and AIDS as a chronic disease such as diabetes or high blood pressure, etc. has not yielded positive results in Ghana.

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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below

Laboratory Order Forms

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