Canada's Report on HIV/AIDS 2004

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3b Enhancing Canadian Engagement in the HIV/AIDS Response

Strong engagement in the pan-Canadian response to HIV/AIDS is key to the success of the CSHA. This is predicated on the knowledge that no single level of government and no single organization can effectively tackle the epidemic on its own. The support of many - governments, NGOs, community-based organizations, people living with HIV/AIDS, researchers, the private sector and others - is needed if Canada is to have a more focussed and strategic response and ultimately achieve the goals of eliminating the spread of HIV and finding a cure for HIV/AIDS.

New Partnerships Strengthen Canada's HIV/AIDS Response

CSHA partners continue to develop new and innovative partnerships to expand and reinvigorate Canada's response to HIV/AIDS.

CTAC spearheaded the creation of the National Women's Coalition to bring together a core group of AIDS organizations that are currently addressing women's issues. CTAC will meet with Planned Parenthood Federation of Canada, CAS and the Positive Women's Network in the fall of 2004 to determine future steps for the coalition.

CAS formed a network of medical marihuana users to provide advice on its participation in Health Canada's Stakeholder Advisory Committee on Medical Marihuana. Representatives of the network participated in a stakeholder consultation meeting hosted by Health Canada as part of the regulatory review of the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations.

The CWGHR developed a network of organizations to work together on issues faced by people living with episodic disabilities caused by such diseases as multiple sclerosis, arthritis, diabetes, muscular dystrophy, lupus, hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS. Among the common issues being addressed by the network are coordination of care, disability income support and work issues.

CAAN engaged a number of groups in delivering HIV/AIDS information and programming to hard-to-reach Aboriginal target audiences. These groups included the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (which addresses issues related to residential schooling), the CIHR Institute of Aboriginal Peoples Health, the Waseskun Healing Lodge for Aboriginal Men (for inmates being released into the community) and the National Native Addictions Partnership Foundation.

Increasing the Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS and People at Risk

People living with HIV/AIDS and people particularly vulnerable to infection are engaged in the response.

For example, HIV-positive people are involved in the Positive Youth Project, a collaborative initiative involving CATIE, CAAN, CAS, The Hospital for Sick Children, TeenNet (University of Toronto), Positive Youth Outreach and the YouthCO AIDS Society. As part of this project, CATIE cosponsored a day-long conference for HIV-positive youth that attracted more than 50 participants from across Canada. A major theme of this conference was youth experiences with HIV treatment. CATIE also collaborated with Positive Youth Project partners to present workshops on youth treatment issues at various national conferences. In a separate project - the "Have a Heart Program" - CATIE collaborated with CANFAR to increase HIV/AIDS awareness among 300 000 youth across Canada.

Sex trade workers were among the key informants at a national workshop organized by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network to obtain input to a report and recommendations it is developing on prostitution, criminalization and vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. Other participants included researchers, community-based workers and HIV-positive people. Sex trade workers will continue to be involved in this project as it evolves.

The People Living with HIV/AIDS Forum was held in June 2003 in conjunction with CAS's annual general meeting in Ottawa. The Forum provides the opportunity for people living with HIV/AIDS, community-based workers and volunteers to network, build skills, elect regional directors to the CAS board and pass resolutions that influence CAS policy. The 2003 Forum included skills-building workshops on medical marihuana and communications as well as a panel discussion on the principle of greater involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS.

In 2004, approximately 42 000 Canadians in 130 communities participated in WALK FOR LIFE, the country's largest single event for raising awareness and funds for HIV/AIDS. Held from September 18-26, 2004, WALK FOR LIFE raised $1.7 million to assist local AIDS organizations in every province and territory (money pledged to walkers remains in the communities where it was raised). WALK FOR LIFE, coordinated nationally by CAS and funded entirely by the private sector, depends on hundreds of volunteers from coast to coast to coast. In addition to a new theme and logo (the event was formerly known as AIDS Walk Canada), the 2004 event featured enhanced partnership between CAS and the three largest walks, in Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver. For the second consecutive year, 80 inmates at Westmoreland Institution in New Brunswick participated in an AIDS walk that raised more than $400 for AIDS New Brunswick.

WALK FOR LIFE 2004 included participation by 25 Inuit communities, with coordinators recruited by Pauktuutit Inuit Women's Association on behalf of CAS. Pauktuutit also continued to engage Inuit people in the HIV/AIDS response by sponsoring 10 HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C Fairs in Inuit communities, with support from FNIHB. These popular community events are based on the science fair model, with youth creating projects on HIV/AIDS and/or hepatitis C. Aboriginal people living with HIV/AIDS often assist with project judging and speak to the community about the disease. From time to time, project materials may be included in HIV/AIDS awareness information distributed across the North.

Aboriginal people are among those most at risk of HIV infection in Canada. To increase understanding of specific issues affecting Inuit people, CIHAN steering committee members participated in CAAN's annual general meeting in Morley, Alberta, in October 2003. As well, Pauktuutit, CIHAN, the Assembly of First Nations and the Métis National Council participated in Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Day activities organized by CAAN in Ottawa, with the goal of increasing collaboration and partnership among Aboriginal associations that undertake HIV/AIDS work.

Correctional Service Canada provided funding to continue the Special Inmates Initiatives Program, which enables inmates to become directly involved in developing activities that will improve HIV/AIDS awareness and education in institutional settings. In 2003-2004, inmates at the Nova Institution for Women in Nova Scotia received funding for a project that invited inmates to answer questions about HIV/AIDS. All correct answers were entered into a draw, with prizes awarded weekly. In Manitoba, the Inmate Health Awareness Group at Stony Mountain Institution organized an HIV slogan and poster contest for inmates at Stony Mountain and nearby Rockwood Institution. Representatives of the Manitoba AIDS Cooperative selected the winning posters, copies of which were provided to all provincial and federal institutions in Correctional Service Canada's Prairie Region and to member organizations of the Manitoba AIDS Cooperative. The HIV/AIDS Peer Education and Counselling group at Drumheller Institution in Alberta printed and distributed a range of resources, including a calendar with harm reduction, health promotion and illness prevention tips.

Correctional Service Canada's National HIV/ AIDS Peer Education and Counselling Program continued to provide inmate "peers" with opportunities to share information and support on HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases with fellow inmates. The implementation of the program across federal correctional facilities is ongoing and remains a priority for Correctional Service Canada in preventing blood-borne pathogen transmission during incarceration.

Working with Canada's Global Partners

More than 19 000 delegates attended the XV International AIDS Conference in Bangkok from July 11-16, 2004, including some 250 Canadians. This was the first time the biannual conference - the only venue in which the experience of scientists, clinicians, NGOs and advocates comes together - was held in Southeast Asia. Health Canada, which along with CIDA was among the official conference sponsors, coordinated the Government of Canada's engagement in the conference. Many partners in the CSHA attended, including national NGOs, researchers and scientists from across Canada. The next International AIDS Conference will be held in Toronto in 2006 (see feature on page 17).

Several Canadian organizations organized or cosponsored satellite sessions held in conjunction with the XV International AIDS Conference. For example, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network co-organized a satellite session on "Human Rights at the Margins - HIV/AIDS, Prisoners, Drug Users and the Law," with financial support from IAD, CIDA and others. IAD officials delivered skills-building workshops and participated in a panel discussion with CIDA and Foreign Affairs Canada on Bill C-9, legislation that is intended to facilitate access to affordable pharmaceutical products by developing countries. Representatives of CSHA partner organizations also made poster presentations and organized workshops.

IAD and the Women's Health Bureau (Health Canada) sponsored a satellite session entitled "Acting on Rights: Women and HIV/AIDS." The session, also supported by CIDA, the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health and the International Partnership for Microbicides, attracted more than 300 participants. Through the satellite, IAD engaged a network of individuals and organizations working on women and HIV/AIDS and human rights issues, including the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, Human Rights Watch, the Centres of Excellence for Women's Health, the University of Ottawa's Women's Health Research Unit and the International Partnership for Microbicides. In collaboration with the Women's Health Bureau and the Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women's Health, IAD compiled a CD-ROM of resources developed by these organizations for dissemination at the XV International AIDS Conference.

A coalition of Canadian groups - Save the Children Canada, World Vision Canada, CARE Canada and Foster Parents Plan of Canada - presented a paper at the conference urging world governments, researchers and drug companies to shift their focus toward prevention and treatment among children and youth threatened by HIV/AIDS. HIV infection rates among children are estimated at 600 000 to 800 000 new cases per year, and an estimated 34 million children worldwide have already been orphaned by AIDS. The coalition is being supported by a five-year, $12 million grant from CIDA to establish health care and social support programs for orphaned or HIV-positive children, as well as prevention education programs to try to halt the spread of HIV (ICAD is an advisor to the coalition). The aid groups will work in Kenya, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso and Mozambique.

Challenges and Opportunities

Meeting the needs of diverse target populations in rural and urban settings throughout Canada continues to be a challenge for many CSHA partners and stakeholders. While engaging these populations in the development and delivery of prevention programs and care, treatment and support initiatives is key to success, the very characteristics and circumstances that make individuals vulnerable to HIV/AIDS - including marginalization and stigma and discrimination - also serve as barriers to their involvement in the response. There is also a recognized need to increase the involvement of non-traditional groups in the HIV/AIDS response and to establish broader coalitions to address problems such as stigma and discrimination.

At the same time, organizations at all levels must avoid "partnerships for partnership's sake." To be truly effective, alliances must be established for strategic reasons, such as the pursuit of complementary goals. Increased funding under the CSHA should support additional networking and collaborative work among a growing range of organizations involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

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