Are We Making Progress In The Fight Against HIV/AIDS In Canada’s African, Caribbean And Black Communities?

Sunday, February 7th marks the second annual African, Caribbean and Black Canadian HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The Canadian HIV/AIDS Black, African and Caribbean Network (CHABAC) and its partners started this day because we need to raise awareness of HIV, promote HIV prevention, and address HIV-related stigma and homophobia in Canada’s African, Caribbean and Black (ACB) communities. On this day we are asking people to stop and reflect on the impact of HIV in Canada’s ACB community as well as to fight the silence and denial that so many in our community want to maintain.

The good news is that there have been some real advances in addressing HIV and we now have more tools than ever to prevent, diagnose and treat. Research evidence tell us that condoms and other emerging prevention technologies such as pre-exposure phophylaxis (PrEP — when an HIV-negative person takes anti-HIV drugs to reduce their risk of becoming infected) and treatment as prevention (TASP — when an HIV positive person uses anti-HIV drugs to significantly decrease the risk of HIV transmission to a negative partner) are incredibly effective in preventing new HIV infections.

We are also living in a time when there are especially effective treatments that, when accessible, largely ensure a long life for people diagnosed with HIV. We know that many Black Canadians diagnosed with HIV are living relatively healthy lives when compared with other HIV positive Canadians. For instance, in Ontario the health outcomes for Black people receiving HIV treatment are largely in line with the health outcomes for others receiving the same treatments. This suggests that we are doing well in the fight to treat and support members of our community who are living with HIV. This also means that Black Canadians living with HIV are engaged in their care and that those that have been diagnosed are on HIV treatment.

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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