This year, representatives from the Government of Canada gathered on Parliament Hill to mark World AIDS Day with a public testing event and a flag raising ceremony. This was the very first time, since its inception in 1992, that the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS was invited to Ottawa to mark this important awareness day. Dr. Julio Montaner joined a number of representatives, including the Honourable Minister of Health Dr. Jane Philpott, Parliamentary Secretary for Health Kamal Khera, Advisor to the Prime Minister on LGBTQ2 Issues Randy Boissonault and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde, in a rapid HIV test. Later, outside on the Hill, Dr. Montaner was in attendance as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised the World AIDS Day flag. The Prime Minister closed his remarks urging all Canadians to get tested for HIV.
In a World AIDS Day statement, the Honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau emphasized the government’s $804 million pledge to the Global Fund to support international efforts to fight AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. The Prime Minister promised Canada would lead by exampleand called for an end to the persistent stigma facing those living with HIV.
The Honourable Minister of Health Dr. Jane Philpott emphasized Canada’s commitment to the UNAIDS 90-90-90 Target and announced Canada’s standing in relation to the goal of ending AIDS by 2030, based on principles of the made-in-BC Treatment as Prevention¨ strategy.
The federal government estimates about 80% of people living with HIV in Canada are currently diagnosed; 76% of those diagnosed are on treatment; and 89% of those on treatment have suppressed viral loads. In British Columbia, through the implementation of Treatment as Prevention¨ with support from the Government of BC, we have achieved 82% diagnosed among people living with HIV; 81% on treatment among those diagnosed; and 95% with suppressed viral load among those on treatment. In support of reaching the UN 90-90-90 Target, Health Canada announced an investment of over $3.5 million to fund the work of Canadian HIV/AIDS researchers advancing science and working with the communities most affected by HIV.
Also, on December 1st, the Honourable Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould released a statement committing to re-examine Canada’s legislation on HIV non-disclosure. Currently, next to the United States, Canada convicts the highest number of individuals of HIV non-disclosure-for which the charge is often aggravated sexual assault with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
“…The over-criminalization of HIV non-disclosure discourages many individuals from being tested and seeking treatment, and further stigmatizes those living with HIV or AIDS,” wrote Justice Minister Wilson-Raybould in her statement.
In an endorsement of Treatment of Prevention, now seen by the world’s major health organizations as a viable path towards controlling the HIV epidemic, the AIDS Society of Canada released a position statement advocating for immediate and universal access to HIV treatment. The statement emphasizedthe critical importance of the discovery that sustained, consistent HIV treatment leads to undetectable viral loads and outlined the made-in-BC Treatment as Prevention¨ strategy essential to ending AIDS.
The conversation around the events of World AIDS Day was lively in the media and on Twitter. The flag raising ceremony and other events from the day were covered by the Canadian Press, The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, the Victoria Times-Colonist, Global News, Daily Xtra, PositiveLite.com and the Washington Blade.
Dr. Julio Montaner was featured on CBC The National on Friday, December 2, speaking of progress in the national and global battle against HIV-as well as the work still left to accomplish.
On Twitter, the BC-CfE received close to 150 mentions on December 1st. A quiz posted on the BC-CfE website on HIV and AIDS in BC and Canada was taken 450 times, with an average score of 7 out of 10 questions correct. In the lead up to World AIDS Day, the BC-CfE website received nearly 12,500 visits over the month of November.
The BC-CfE celebrates the federal government’s renewed commitment to support HIV/AIDS domestically and internationally. We look forward to working together in the future to advance towards ending AIDS by 2030.