This year’s Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week was full of activities, with 11 events held across the country between December 1st and December 6th. Starting in Ottawa on World AIDS Day, the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN) launched this important time for awareness in the nation’s capital, alongside partners and representatives from First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. The main drive for the week was to bring together government and community to help reduce stigma around HIV.
Two events were held in Vancouver. Indigenous transgender women living with HIV or hepatitis C were invited to a December 2nd luncheon as an opportunity to socialize with peers in a safe environment, “as family often does”.
On December 6th, Dr. Julio Montaner, Director of the BC-CfE joined other speakers to explore international Indigenous HIV and AIDS issues and how these relate to local realities for Aboriginal people in Canada. Other experts at the event included Dr. Alexandra King, a physician researcher with the Lu’ma Medical Centre and general internist at the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre; Nnamdi Ndubuka, Medical Health Officer for Saskatchewan Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority with experience addressing HIV in Botswana; and experts from the International Indigenous Working Group on HIV and AIDS (IIWGHA).
International and indigenous experts were invited, alongside people living with HIV in Canada, to share their experiences working with and learning from Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners. There was a strong emphasis on the need for the collection of epidemiological data for Indigenous peoples and HIV.
Dr. Montaner extended a heartfelt thank you to the Canadian Aboriginal community for being among the first to endorse the Treatment as Prevention¨ (TasP¨) approach, which he first introduced to the world in 2006. The concept behind TasP¨ is that all those diagnosed with HIV should be offered immediate and universal access to treatment, as a means to extend their longevity and increase their quality of life. When on sustained and consistent treatment, an individual can achieve an undetectable viral load-which makes the chances they will spread the virus to others extremely low.
He called for the urgent need to continue investing in providing access to HIV testing and treatment, to reduce stigma and to reach the most hard-to-reach and vulnerable populations by meeting them where they are. Political will and funding to increase access to treatment is essential to achieving better health outcomes nationwide. “Vertical transmission is 100% preventable, but there are still communities in Canada where this transmission is happening,” said Dr. Montaner.
Dr. Montaner said ongoing funding and support is critical: not only reaching the ambitious but achievable UNAIDS 90-90-90 Target, based on principles of TasP¨, but also in maintaining sustained control of the HIV epidemic. The Target, adopted by the United Nations as a Sustainable Development Goal, is to have 90% of those living with HIV diagnosed, 90% of those diagnosed with HIV on treatment, 90% of those on treatment with suppressed viral loads. If these goals are reached by 2020, an AIDS-free generation can be achieved by 2030.
Along these lines, Dr. King spoke to the importance of achieving the 90-90-90 Target within each community and within each population. Nnamdi Ndubuka highlighted challenges in reaching rural populations within communities affected by HIV in Northern Saskatchewan, pointing to solutions such as mobile testing units and accessible health care.
“The end of AIDS can happen, but we need commitment,” said Dr. Montaner.