Message from the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health, and the Honourable Jane Philpott, Minister of Indigenous Services on World AIDS Day and Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week 2017

December 1 marks World AIDS Day – an opportunity for people, communities, organizations and governments across the globe to come together to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS. December 1 is also the start of Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week, when a number of activities and events take place across Canada to increase awareness of HIV and AIDS among Indigenous peoples.

Today, we would like to recognize the important work of those dedicated to the fight against HIV with the objective of reducing the impact of this infection in Canada.

As Canada’s Ministers of Health and Indigenous Services, we are heartened by the progress made to reduce the public health impact of HIV and other Sexually Transmitted and Blood-borne Infections (STBBIs) in our country. In fact, with increased access to antiretroviral treatment, people living with HIV today can live fuller and healthier lives.

However, there are still approximately 2,500 new HIV infections in Canada every year. Over the past year, the Government of Canada has consulted with stakeholders, experts and provincial and territorial governments to identify and prioritize concrete actions to reduce the public health impact of STBBIs in Canada. The goal is to move us closer to achieving the UNAIDS 90-90-90 treatment targets: By 2020, 90% of people living with HIV know their HIV status; 90% of people with diagnosed HIV infection are in treatment; and 90% of people receiving treatment have viral suppression (the amount of the virus in their blood has been reduced to very low levels). The latest available data in Canada shows that an estimated:

• 80% of HIV-infected people have been diagnosed;
• 76% of those diagnosed are on treatment; and
• 89% of people on treatment have suppressed viral loads.

Indigenous people in Canada are disproportionately affected by HIV. Our government is committed to strengthening the response of First Nations communities to HIV by providing resources to facilitate early case and contact investigations, HIV awareness and prevention, and support.

We will continue to work with Indigenous partners and organizations to support community-led initiatives and implement culturally relevant approaches. For example, the "Know Your Status" programs have proven effective in increasing testing, follow-up and treatment in Indigenous communities.

We know that coordinated action and more focused interventions will be required to:

• Reduce stigma and discrimination as barriers to HIV prevention, testing and treatment;
• Encourage more people to know their status; and
• Increase access to testing so that individuals can seek appropriate treatment, care and support.

Our Government will continue to engage Canadians in discussions about the importance of sexual health and the adoption of safer sex and will look for innovative ways to approach prevention.

We are committed to working with all partners so that together we can make true progress toward the elimination of HIV.

Ginette Petitpas Taylor
Minister of Health

Jane Philpott
Minister of Indigenous Services