Indigenous groups getting a voice at the International AIDS Conference
Now, more than ever, Aboriginal Peoples are being recognized as a key population in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
While on the international stage, Canada is seen as a country that supports indigenous groups’ work to end HIV/AIDS; it’s also used as a warning to other nations to show the need to get culturally appropriate programing of HIV prevention to First Nation communities.
“For me as an Aboriginal Australian, looking at the HIV data from Canada is a real concern for me,” said James Ward, an associate professor in Australia and first-ever indigenous plenary speaker, at the recent International AIDS Conference in Melbourne. “When you represent 4 per cent of the population and 23 per cent of all HIV diagnosis in that country it’s of real concern.”
Angela Hill
Eagle Feather News
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