Canada's Report on HIV/AIDS 2004

Previous | Table of Contents | Next

Message from the Ministerial Council on HIV/AIDS

The HIV/AIDS epidemic - with its dire consequences of illness and suffering, stigma and discrimination, unnecessary and premature death, and family and community anguish - is gathering momentum in Canada and around the world.

The Ministerial Council on HIV/AIDS fully supports the theme of UNAIDS' 2004 World AIDS Day Campaign. "Have you heard me today?" seeks to raise awareness of and help address the many issues that make young women and girls around the world particularly susceptible to HIV. Canada is well positioned to show leadership on this front by, for example, accelerating the development of microbicides and by working to ensure that women and girls receive equitable access to treatment under the World Health Organization's and UNAIDS' 3 by 5 Initiative. The goal of the Initiative is to ensure access to antiretroviral treatment for 3 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the developing world by the end of 2005. As treatment efforts scale up, Canada must also resist calls for HIV testing approaches that do not fully respect human rights, including mandatory HIV testing of pregnant women without their informed consent.

Women are also among the most vulnerable populations in Canada and therefore need additional attention. At the same time, Council remains deeply concerned about the increasing infection rates among gay men and youth in Canada and is advocating for enhanced prevention and awareness education for youth. Council also recognizes that Aboriginal peoples in Canada are especially vulnerable to the spread of HIV/AIDS. The reasons for this are multifactorial, grounded in social and economic inequities and must be addressed from a social justice perspective.

We will continue to strengthen our working relationship with the National Aboriginal Council on HIV/AIDS to ensure that the Government upholds its commitments to issues affecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis populations in Canada.

The Government of Canada has been in the forefront of certain issues. For example, Canada is the first country in the world to adopt legislation that enables the exporting of less expensive, generic versions of patented pharmaceutical products to countries in need. In addition, the first supervised injection site in North America has opened in Vancouver and initial evaluation results are positive. The Ministerial Council will continue to advise the Minister of Health on ways to strengthen harm reduction efforts, including pressing for the introduction of needle exchange programs in prisons.

The Government of Canada, with significant involvement and effort on the part of the HIV/AIDS community and others, has increased funding for the Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS. The Ministerial Council applauds this decision but would like to see an accelerated disbursement of the new funds.

Fiscal year 2003-2004 was one of significant activity for the Ministerial Council on HIV/AIDS, which includes people living with HIV/AIDS, front-line workers, health care providers, researchers and human rights experts. The Council's work is documented in detail in its 2003-2004 annual report.

Council looks forward to its continued involvement in the renewal of Canada's HIV/AIDS response. Canada must get ahead of the epidemic, and the Ministerial Council will continue to monitor and contribute to this goal in the years ahead.

Previous | Table of Contents | Next