Federal/Provincial/Territorial Advisory Committee on AIDS

2006 - 2009 Strategic Plan

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Executive Summary

HIV /AIDS continues to be a global and national health threat. There are now more people living with HIV in Canada than ever before. Increasing numbers of new infections pose ongoing and new challenges to governments to provide care, treatment, and support and HIV prevention programming. In particular, a striking rise in the number of undiagnosed individuals (27% of the 58,000 individuals) should send chills through policy makers and front line program deliverers in Canada. This "hidden epidemic" poses a potentially greater risk and challenge to our health resources than do those who are aware of and have taken responsibility for their status.

Recognizing that HIV cannot be successfully dealt with by anyone jurisdiction, the Council of Deputy Ministers of Health (CDMH) has designated the Federal Provincial Territorial Advisory Committee on AIDS (F/P/T AIDS) as an "ongoing liaison committee". This designation recognizes that ongoing collaboration between governments is fundamental to addressing HIV /AIDS issues in Canada. The United Nations Joint Program on AIDS (UNAIDS) strongly recommends coordinated and collaborative multi-level HIV/AIDS planning to produce better outcomes.

F/P/T AIDS is not a new committee. For the last eighteen years it has been both proactive and responsive in addressing HIV /AIDS issues. The committee has been able to produce in-depth policy and program analysis on emerging HIV /AIDS issues through sharing information and accessing the necessary expertise (see Appendix A). The products of this analysis have informed provincial, territorial, and federal jurisdictions in policy and program development. Since 2006, recommendations for actions on specific HIV/AIDS issues have also been forwarded to the Public Health Network. Through these activities, F/P/T AIDS significantly influences the evolutionary development of a pan-Canadian approach to HIV/AIDS.

In view of its ever-evolving role, in the spring of 2006 F/P/T AIDS engaged in an evidence-based strategic planning process to guide its work for the next three years. F/P/T AIDS has developed a Strategic Plan that will guide the committee's activities and support its leadership role in addressing HIV issues for the next three years.

F/P/T AIDS subscribes to the following mission: F/P/T AIDS contributes to a decrease in the incidence, prevalence, and burden ofHIV infections in Canada. To this mission, F/P/T AIDS would add that it contributes to how we understand and address all blood-borne diseases. In focusing on the determinants of health, and by working effectively across organizational and geographic boundaries with decisionmakers and those who determine policy, F/P/T AIDS has demonstrated how scientific evidence and the input of individuals can be merged to create tailored yet consistent actions that people are ready to undertake.

Three strategic goals will guide the work of the committee over the next three years:

1. To collaboratively promote further development of public policy on issues related to HIV /AIDS at the federal, provincial, and territorial levels.
2. To promote increased intergovernmental, inter-jurisdictional, and multilevel collaboration on issues related to HIV /AIDS in Canada.
3. To promote the use of epidemiological data and community information in the development of policy, programs, and services in Canada.

Specific objectives and deliverables have been developed under each of the stated goals. Some of the associated activities are broad or ongoing, reflecting process outcomes. Others, arising out of data and epidemiological analysis, are specific, time-limited projects focused on furthering the knowledge required for jurisdictions to develop HIV/AIDS policy, programming, or services. A section on guiding principles describes the values and activities that characterize how the committee functions. The F/P/T AIDS terms of reference, which include how the committee develops priorities, can be found in appendix B.

F/P/T AIDS developed this strategic plan based on a history of synergy and successes, which has lead to concrete accomplishments. This document includes a short summary of the positive outcomes experienced by governments by engaging in a collaborative approach to HIV/AIDS issues in Canada.

Compared to the 2003-2006 F/P/T AIDS Strategic Plan, this plan includes a value proposition for the Committee,an updatedunderstandingof the environmentin whichwemustcombattheHIV/AIDS . epidemic, and an adjusted set of objectives and deliverables, with new activities, and new priorities. This plan was adopted as a working document in September 2006.

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