Canada's Report on HIV/AIDS - 1999

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The Way Ahead

The Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS mobilizes the spirit of hope while facing the urgent realities of Canadians living with HIV/AIDS. By generating a better understanding of the complexities of HIV/AIDS, the Strategy is supporting advances in caregiving, prevention, treatment and research.

Direction for the coming year is based on the following realities:

• HIV/AIDS has not been eradicated in Canada and remains a critical global concern.
• New treatments are helping people with HIV/AIDS to live longer, but a growing number are experiencing treatment failure.
• HIV infections are increasing for marginalized Canadians and women; thousands of Canadians are unaware of their HIV status.
• HIV/AIDS reaches beyond health issues to encompass urgent social justice, gender, human rights and economic challenges.
• Continued collaboration with key stakeholders in HIV/AIDS-related fields will help share advances and experiences across disciplines.
• Canadians have much to learn about the international face of the epidemic and also much to contribute to the global response.

By ensuring effective care and treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS; addressing social, economic, legal and ethical issues; investing more resources in research and treatment; and developing joint strategic policies and practices among Strategy partners, we create a unique vision of shared hope. Motion and Progress provides evidence of this collaborative success some two years after the launch of the Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS.

In the coming year, Strategy advances will be demonstrated through the following broad objectives:

• Mobilizing national efforts to reach Canadian youth by helping to overcome the barriers that place those under 25 at increased risk of HIV infection
• Enhancing Canada's role in the global effort to reduce the spread of HIV and to apply lessons learned abroad on the domestic front
• Strengthening Canada's national and international effort to develop a safe and effective vaccine against HIV
• Expanding community-based and government efforts through a focus on mutual priorities, planning and activities, and on building stronger partnerships and strategic allegiances
• Raising gender, cultural and social awareness in order to revitalize the fight against HIV/AIDS and end complacency
• Advocating social, political and cultural change in concert with First Nations, Inuit and Métis, Canadian offenders and other populations
• Making Canadians aware of the determinants that increase the threat of HIV infection among heterosexual populations
• Refining surveillance and research priorities to address disturbing trends in treatment failure rates
• Providing greater access to current HIV/AIDS information, resources and services.

A passionate commitment to open dialogue is the essence of collaboration under the Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS. This exciting exchange will do more than reduce the risk of infection or improve care for people living with HIV/AIDS. It will engage society to end the discrimination and systemic barriers that place individuals at risk and prohibit compassionate care. As Canadians enter the new millennium, the Strategy will ensure progressive gains in HIV/AIDS research, treatment and care, as well as provide a healthier existence for all citizens.

In these ways, the Strategy ensures that Canadians will not forget the millions across the globe who have already lost their fight against AIDS. And as the Strategy evolves, Canadians everywhere will devote their collaborative efforts for a community that has nothing in common with such suffering - a world without AIDS.

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