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Canada's Report on HIV/AIDS 2003

Looking Forward: Focussing the Response

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Report 2003

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Acknowledgements

Our mission is to help the people of Canada maintain and improve their health.

Health Canada

Canada's Report on HIV/AIDS 2003 was developed in collaboration with governmental and non-governmental partners in the Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS. An editorial board provided invaluable input on the tone and direction of this report. The editorial board members were:

  • Christopher Armstrong, Canadian International Development Agency
  • Cat Baron, Canadian Public Health Association
  • John Bissonnette, John Bissonnette & Associates Ltd.
  • Denyse Boxell, Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange
  • Shannon Brunton Stephens, Health Canada
  • Lina Chang, Health Canada
  • Eileen Clarkin, Health Canada
  • Fernand Comeau, Health Canada
  • Nancy Connor, Health Canada
  • Mark Creighan, Canadian AIDS Society
  • Dionne A. Falconer, Ministerial Council on HIV/AIDS
  • Rosemary Forbes, Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development
  • Marene Gatali, Health Canada
  • Karen Gittens, Health Canada
  • Jennifer Gunning, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
  • Blaize Mumford, Health Canada
  • Nena Nera, Health Canada
  • Samar Sarkesh, Correctional Service Canada

Health Canada would also like to thank Anne Marie DiCenso, Dr. Alan Li and Jenny Saarinen for sharing their experiences and perceptions of the HIV/AIDS epidemic with other Canadians.

This publication may be reproduced by agencies and persons outside the Government of Canada provided prior permission is secured in writing. This publication is also available on the Health Canada web site: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca New Window

To obtain additional copies, please contact:

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Information Centre
1565 Carling Avenue, Suite 400
Ottawa, Ontario K1Z 8R1
Tel.: 1-877-999-7740

© Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2003

Cat. H39-456/2003
ISBN 0-662-67810-9

Message from the Ministers

World AIDS Day is a time to reflect on the state of the epidemic and to remember those we have lost to this devastating disease. It is also an opportunity to look ahead and to consider how Canada's response to the disease can be strengthened and made more effective and inclusive.

Canada can claim many successes, both at home and abroad. However, we are still not getting ahead of the epidemic. Recent evidence tells us that many Canadians have come to believe that HIV/AIDS is no longer a threat and that safer sex practices are not being used consistently. As a result, the rate of new HIV infections in Canada continues unabated, and the number of people living with HIV/AIDS continues to grow.

The Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS (CSHA) is intended to continually adapt to the new and emerging realities of the epidemic and to focus on people living with HIV/AIDS and those at risk of HIV infection. It provides a unique pan-Canadian framework through which many partners work together on innovative approaches to prevention, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS. Five years after the CSHA was launched, it is time to again renew our approach.

Canada needs to strengthen its efforts to prevent the spread of HIV and to provide care, treatment and support to affected people. We need to focus particular attention on those who are marginalized and do not have access to services and needed information. We need to broaden the Canadian response to more fully engage people living with HIV/AIDS. It is also important that we increase collaborative efforts with other federal departments, provincial and territorial governments, the private sector, Aboriginal and ethnocultural organizations and community groups. Stronger links are needed between Canada's domestic and international responses to HIV/AIDS.

Canadians involved in the response are being consulted on a new action plan to revitalize Canada's efforts to combat the epidemic. This plan will enhance Canada's ability to implement the United Nations Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. I am confident that the plan, once finalized, will help to guide us collectively as we continue the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Today, and in the months ahead, I challenge all Canadians to join the effort to ensure a compassionate, comprehensive and effective Canadian response to HIV/AIDS.

Anne McLellan

A. Anne McLellan
Minister of Health
December 2003

Message From The Ministerial Council On Hiv/aids

More Canadians than ever are living with HIV/AIDS-some 56 000 people, according to the latest estimates from Health Canada. Yet recent evidence suggests that HIV/AIDS has become "yesterday's disease" in the public mind. This is an alarming development given that the spread of HIV continues unabated and HIV/AIDS is still causing premature, unnecessary and tragic deaths throughout Canada and around the world.

Public complacency about HIV/AIDS was confirmed in a survey sponsored by Health Canada and completed early in 2003. Most Canadians do not consider themselves at significant risk for HIV infection, and one person in five believes that HIV/AIDS can be cured if treated early. The same survey highlighted the disturbing magnitude of stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS: almost half of Canadians believe that people living with HIV/AIDS should not be allowed to work in public positions.

Despite the best efforts of thousands of dedicated workers and volunteers to stem the epidemic, HIV/AIDS continues to exact a terrible toll. This is true in Canada, where people continue to succumb to HIV/AIDS because of co-infections, treatment side effects or lack of access to treatment and support, as well as in the developing world, where the epidemic has reached staggering proportions and continues to grow. Clearly, more needs to be done.

The Ministerial Council on HIV/AIDS adds its voice to those of others, including key national stakeholders, community-based groups, researchers, health care providers and the House of Commons' Standing Committee on Health, in calling for an urgent increase in the federal investment in the CSHA. The Ministerial Council also supports the development of a strategic plan for Canada's HIV/AIDS response, one that aims to strengthen and expand the engagement of new players and that recognizes the importance of interdepartmental, intergovernmental and multi-sectoral collaboration on HIV/AIDS. Council believes that this plan must more fully align the domestic and international responses to HIV/AIDS.

Over the past year, the Council has advised the federal Minister of Health on these and other issues, including matters concerning citizen engagement, a culturally appropriate response to the epidemic among Aboriginal peoples and individuals newly arrived from regions of the world where HIV is endemic, the development of critical initiatives and the overall federal framework for the CSHA. The Council's work in these areas was documented in detail in its 2002-2003 annual report

The Council, which includes people living with HIV/AIDS, front-line workers, health care providers, researchers and human rights experts, will continue to contribute to the evolution of Canada's HIV/AIDS response both domestically and globally in the pivotal year ahead. The Ministerial Council on HIV/AIDS urges all Canadians to join in this critical work.

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Date Modified: 2006-07-14

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