(2004-29) News Release July 14, 2004 Bangkok, Thailand -- The Honourable Aileen Carroll, Minister for International Cooperation, today announced that Canada is committing $7 million to reduce the vulnerability to HIV/AIDS of mobile populations in Southeast Asia. The funding, which will be provided by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), will go to a Consortium made up of CARE Canada, PATH Canada, and the Canadian Society for International Health. "It is urgent that Canada and the international community act quickly to help slow and reduce the spread of this epidemic, which is endangering human security and sustainable development across this region," Minister Carroll said. "We must help Asian countries target high-risk groups before the epidemic affects much greater numbers of people in the general population." This four-year initiative, to be implemented in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, will expand HIV prevention beyond the traditional health sector and into other sectors such as transportation, labour and agriculture. Specifically, efforts will focus on increasing the capacity of national government partners to develop and manage HIV prevention programs targeting mobile populations, particularly migrant workers. Minister Carroll is currently in Bangkok, Thailand, attending the XV International AIDS Conference. Canada has participated in all International AIDS Conferences, and will be hosting the next one in Toronto in 2006. In addition to today's announcement, Canada is transferring the last USD 25 million allocation of its USD 100 million initial commitment to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This disbursement will help to maximize the United States' contribution to the Global Fund, which by U.S. law cannot be more than one third of the total amount contributed by all donors. Canada was the first country to take concrete action on the World Trade Organization's decision to remove a key obstacle to making less expensive pharmaceutical products available to developing countries facing public health problems. As the lead donor in support of the World Health Organization's 3 by 5 Initiative to get 3 million people with HIV on antiretroviral treatment by the end of 2005, Canada has clearly shown its commitment to providing strong strategic leadership and stimulating donor momentum in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In Canada, Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew announced in May that the federal government will double the funding for the Canadian Strategy for HIV/AIDS (CSHA) over the next five years to $84.4 million annually. In the first year, funding will be targeted to support community-based organizations working with populations most at risk of infection. "The number of Canadians living with HIV/AIDS continues to rise," said the Honourable Pettigrew, Minister of Health. "Understanding which populations are most affected by HIV/AIDS helps partners in the CSHA to develop and implement appropriate prevention, care and treatment strategies and programs." Today, Health Canada released the latest National HIV/AIDS Prevalence and Incidence Estimates, which indicates that 56,000 Canadians were living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2002. The Estimates help to evaluate and guide prevention efforts and highlight the importance of continued monitoring of the epidemic in Canada. "Canada takes a smart approach to fighting HIV/AIDS," Minister Carroll added. "We work on all fronts¿prevention, treatment, care and support, as well as strengthening health systems. Canada has sent a message to the world: when confronted with the suffering of others, Canadians do not look away. We encourage other countries to join us in stepping up efforts to fight this pandemic." For additional background information on HIV/AIDS, please see: http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/aids.htm Funding for this initiative was provided for in the March 2004 federal budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework. - 30 - Information: Andrew Graham Director of Communications Office of the Minister for International Cooperation Telephone: (819) 953-6238 Media Relations Office Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Telephone: (819) 953-6534 E-mail: info@acdi-cida.gc.ca Aggie Adamczyk Media Relations Officer Health Canada Phone number for media enquiries: (613) 941-8189 aggie_adamczyk@hc-sc.gc.ca http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/aids2004/index.html Canada and the fight against HIV/AIDS in Asia HIV/AIDS is spreading quickly in many parts of Asia and the Pacific, where an estimated 7.4 million people now live with the virus. Countries in South and Southeast Asia are facing the devastating social and economic impact of the epidemic, but global efforts are helping to slow the spread of the virus. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) supports a wide variety of initiatives to fight HIV/AIDS in Asia, from large-scale initiatives to community-based projects. CIDA works in partnership with multilateral organizations, other donors, developing countries, and civil society partners in Canada and Asia. AIDS prevention and capacity building are key characteristics of CIDA's programs, which are directed at high-risk populations including migrant workers, commercial sex workers, and intravenous drug users. Many of these programs operate in countries in Southeast Asia ¿ including Cambodia, Vietnam, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, and Thailand ¿ where the HIV/AIDS pandemic is endangering human security and sustainable development. Some examples of CIDA's current initiatives: Canada Southeast Asia Regional HIV/AIDS Program Canada's contribution to this initiative of the United Nations Development Program is aimed at reducing HIV/AIDS transmission among highly vulnerable groups including mobile populations in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao PDR. With Canadian partner agencies CARE Canada and PATH Canada, this program promotes links among government officials, the private sector and civil society. It also supports a regional approach to harmonize and scale up effective interventions. This four-year initiative will expand HIV prevention beyond the traditional health sector and into other sectors such as transportation, labour and agriculture. The added advantage of working at the regional level is to facilitate the development of models and the dissemination of best practices and lessons learned. India: AIDS Prevention and Control India is fighting AIDS through its National AIDS Control Organization. CIDA and the University of Manitoba are supporting these efforts to control the spread of HIV and to reduce the personal, social and economic impact of AIDS. This initiative helps strengthen state AIDS societies and their partners in Karnataka and Rajasthan. It helps them carry out effective interventions to control transmission of the disease, to demonstrate and document the impact of interventions, and to adapt and use this knowledge countrywide. Prevention initiatives are complemented by care for AIDS patients. Pakistan: HIV/AIDS Surveillance Project This initiative strengthens the ability of national and provincial AIDS control programs to monitor the HIV/AIDS epidemic and to develop effective programs and policies to control and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, and other sexually transmitted infections. It also helps in the development and implementation of a timely, continuous, and effective, high-quality surveillance system. China: UNAIDS program acceleration funds support This initiative provides broad multi-sectoral approaches to tackle HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support at all levels, from political leaders at the national and provincial levels to grass roots organizations at the community level. It focuses on raising HIV/AIDS awareness and caring for people living with AIDS. CIDA's assistance is channelled through UNAIDS. Cambodia: Strategic AIDS Reduction Project (STAR 4/5) STAR 4/5 targets people who live and work along Highways 4 and 5 in Cambodia. World Vision Canada works to reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS and to increase care and acceptance of infected individuals along these highways. The initiative supports peer educators training, community awareness raising and other educational activities; counselling and testing services for HIV/AIDS in the area; and home-based care for people living with HIV/AIDS and orphans and vulnerable children. Vietnam: HIV-AIDS Community Clinics Network Building on the previous experience of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control in establishing a successful community HIV/AIDS clinic, the Café Hy Vong trains Vietnamese officials to diagnose and treat sexually transmitted infections among both low-income commercial sex workers and intravenous drug users in southern Vietnam. The project aims to provide assistance in creating a locally managed and sustainable network of health and social services to serve sex workers and drug users in Ho Chi Minh City and three Mekong Delta Provinces. It will also help to prevent street youths from becoming sex workers, using drugs and taking sexual risks. SAARC-Canada Regional TB and HIV/AIDS project This initiative primarily supports the regional coordination and surveillance of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS by strengthening information networks and databases, as well as regional laboratories, in seven countries in South Asia. Over the last four years, this initiative has permitted the establishment of an epidemiological network as well as a regional collaborative database in partnership with UNAIDS. Furthermore, it has enhanced the capacity of the SAARC Secretariat in communication and policy development with respect to regional health issues, specifically HIV/AIDS and TB Coinfection, as well as improved more accurate lab analysis.
