Canada's Report on HIV/AIDS - 1999

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An Open Letter from the Minister of Health

We enter the new millennium armed with the knowledge that to prevent HIV transmissions and to better care and treat those infected, we must address our vulnerabilities and fears and draw upon our strength and compassion.

There is no cure and no vaccine for AIDS. A total of 2300 HIV infections were diagnosed in 1998 and there are between 12,000 and 18,000 Canadians who are infected with HIV but unaware of their status. Many people living with HIV or AIDS have limited access to appropriate care and treatment.

HIV continues to touch the lives of Canada's vulnerable populations: young gay men, people living in poverty, injection drug users, women, Aboriginal peoples and prison inmates. Globally, young people-those who must build the bridges, create national wealth and conduct the research of the future-experience half of all new HIV infections. In many parts of the world, AIDS is the single greatest threat to economic, social and human development.

People who are known to have HIV often suffer rejection and discrimination. This stigma makes the AIDS challenge special. By the same token, people living with HIV have a special role to play in helping society to acknowledge and tackle the epidemic.

In the face of these challenges, the strength to fight back comes from pooling our resources and working together. The Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS has been a catalyst for this collaboration: each new partnership increasing the action against HIV/AIDS in its own sphere and actively contributing to the pan-Canadian response.

Canada's contribution is not limited to the domestic epidemic: the strength of the partnerships that have been created with other governments, community organizations from different disciplines and of course with the tens of thousands of individuals living with HIV/AIDS has ensured progress against the fight against AIDS.

Motion and Progress outlines the challenges that all of us face, and illustrates the contributions of the thousands of individuals working together to combat the AIDS epidemic. To have met these Canadians, to witness the impact of their work and their commitment is indeed a humbling experience.

It is my privilege to share with you Canada's Report on HIV/AIDS 1999.

Honourable Allan Rock
Minister of Health, November 1999

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