Government of Canada Report to the Secretary General of the United Nations on the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS January 2003 - December 2005

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I. Status at a glance

Overview of the epidemic

• Estimated number of Canadians living with HIV in 2002: 56,000
• Estimated number of Canadians who have died of AIDS as of 2002: 13,000
• Populations most-at-risk: Gay men, people who use injection drugs, Aboriginal people, prisoners, women, people from countries where HIV is endemic, and youth

Strategic Responses
Leading Together: Canada Takes Action on HIV/AIDS (2005-2010) , a blueprint for Canada-wide action on HIV/AIDS, developed through a multi-stakeholder process, has been released. This plan calls for action from all sectors in the Canadian response to HIV/AIDS, including governments, communities, researchers and individuals, and lays out specific actions and targets to address the epidemic.

The Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada (Jan 2005): Evolving from the previous Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS, the Federal Initiative will focus on five federal areas of priority: program and policy interventions; knowledge development; communications and social marketing; coordination, planning, evaluation and reporting; and global engagement. This national priority was further supported with an increase in ongoing federal HIV/AIDS funding of the domestic response from $42.2 million per annum to $84.4 million by 2008-09.

Concurrent with these national directions, most provinces and territories have taken initiative by adopting or renewing HIV/AIDS strategies, whether as part of an integrated approach to bloodborne pathogens and/or sexually transmitted infections, or as stand-alone approaches.

II. Overview of the AIDS epidemic

It is estimated that, as of 2002, 13,000 Canadians have died of AIDS and 56,000 are currently infected with HIV. Of those infected, it is estimated that 17,000 are unaware of their infection and between 2800 and 5300 new infections occurred in 2002 despite prevention efforts.

Men who have sex with men continue to be the population most affected by HIV/AIDS, accounting for an estimated 58 percent of all HIV infections, followed by people who use injection drugs at about 20%. Aboriginal peoples (made up of First Nations, Inuit and Métis) represent a disproportionately high number of HIV infections -- making up only 3.3% of the overall population but an estimated 5% to 8% of all prevalent infections. Women accounted for an estimated 23 per cent of new infections in 2002; heterosexual contact and injection drug use are the two major risk factors for HIV infection in women. Disproportionate rates of infection (7% to 10% of prevalent infections in 2002) have also been noted among those living in Canada who were born in a country where HIV is endemic - mainly countries of sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, who make up approximately 1.5% of the Canadian population¹.

The burden of the epidemic in Canada has been concentrated in four provinces - Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta - which account for 95% of all HIV positive test reports since 1985.

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1. Health Canada, Estimates of HIV prevalence and incidence in Canada, 2002. Canada Communicable Disease Report, Vol. 29, No. 3, December 2003.

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