VANCOUVER – The B.C. government said it will put $2 million toward the Hope to Health Research Centre as a three-day international conference on the latest in HIV-related research opened Sunday in Vancouver.
The fresh investment will allow the new HIV/AIDS, addiction and viral hepatitis research facility – which opened in the Downtown Eastside at the end of June – to expand into a 20,000-square-foot space at 625 Powell St., according to the Ministry of Health.
The centre, led by Dr. Julio Montaner and Dr. Evan Wood of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, focuses not only on HIV/AIDS studies, but also at-risk youth, gender and sexual health, strategies for viral hepatitis, addictions and other related conditions.
“Addressing addictions and viral hepatitis goes hand in hand with the work we’re doing,” said Montaner. “We’re grateful to the province for continuing to help us in addressing the needs of some of the most vulnerable populations.”
Health Minister Terry Lake made the funding announcement Sunday night in Vancouver at the opening of the eighth International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention.
“Having the (International AIDS Society) choose Vancouver as the host of their 2015 conference is a testament to B.C.’s reputation as a leader in HIV/AIDS testing and treatment,” Lake said. “With this funding for St. Paul’s Foundation to expand the Hope to Health Research Clinic, we continue to lead the way in addressing some of the greatest health challenges of our time.”
Some 6,000 scientists, clinicians, health care providers and community leaders from 125 countries are in town to discuss research developments and how they can be applied.
The conference was last held in Vancouver almost 20 years ago in 1996. At that time, Montaner introduced “highly active antiretroviral therapy” or HAART, a treatment that is now considered the gold standard around the world.
“It’s extraordinary to look back and see how far we have come,” Montaner told the opening session on Sunday night. “HAART would go on to save millions of lives in the North and the South of the world. Flash forward to today, we have over 15 million people on treatment – something I believe will go down as one of the defining achievements of this century, a global health milestone.