Feb-10

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B.C. government funds $48-million Seek and Treat program

The Government of B.C. and the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) made history at St. Paul’s Hospital on the morning of February 4, 2010. 

In the hospital’s expansive New Lecture Theatre, B.C. Health Services Minister, Kevin Falcon, stepped up to the podium in front of staff members, persons living with HIV, media, BC-CfE partners and government officials, and pledged $48 million for a life-saving pilot program that has been more than five years in the making. 

The pilot, called Seek and Treat, will be implemented in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and Prince George and is the first of its kind in Canada and internationally. Over four years, it will expand access to HIV and AIDS medications among hard-to-reach populations, including sex trade workers, injection drug users and men who have sex with men. 

The Seek and Treat program will enable health care workers to reach out to more British Columbians living with HIV and to engage those individuals who are medically eligible to gain access to medications to stop HIV’s progression to AIDS. Meanwhile, with more people suffering from HIV enrolled in effective HAART treatment, the virus’ ability to spread to others in the community will be significantly reduced or even eliminated. 

“Seek and Treat promises to decrease HIV and AIDS-related suffering and further prevent the spread of HIV,” said Falcon, to appreciative applause from those celebrating this milestone in the battle to defeat HIV and AIDS. 

“British Columbia continues to be a recognized global leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS with this groundbreaking approach thanks to the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS at St. Paul’s Hospital, under the leadership of Dr. Julio Montaner,” Falcon added. 

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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

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