Today, Michael McLeod, Member of Parliament for Northwest Territories, on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, announced $1 million, through the HIV and Hepatitis C Community Action Fund (CAF), to support FOXY, a community-based organization based in Yellowknife, addressing HIV, hepatitis C and other STBBI.

“Community-based organizations like FOXY play a critical role in working directly with vulnerable populations to improve access to effective STBBI prevention and to provide culturally-safe and stigma-free education and training for health and social service providers. Projects like these take us one more step closer towards reaching our global targets by 2030.”

The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos
Minister of Health

“Our government recognizes the vital role that innovative community-based organizations like FOXY play in implementing local projects that improve access to STBBI prevention, testing, and treatment. We will continue to advance actions to support efforts in the Northwest Territories to reduce stigma toward impacted populations, improve their overall mental health and well-being, and connect people to appropriate care.”

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, and Associate Minister of Health

“As the North continues to struggle with some of the highest rates of sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections in Canada, today’s announcement will help FOXY continue to provide innovative programs for youth that promote mental and sexual health.”

Michael McLeod
Member of Parliament, Northwest Territories

• Through the HIV and Hepatitis C Community Action Fund, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) invests $26.4 million annually to support time-limited projects (up to 5 years) across Canada to address HIV, hepatitis C and other sexually transmitted infections (e.g. chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis). 

• On August 1, 2022, the Government of Canada announced $17.9 million in time-limited funding (2022-2023) to improve access to testing, including $8 million to community-based organizations to support their capacity to distribute and promote HIV self-tests and link people to care. An additional $9.9 million was provided to the National Microbiology Laboratory to expand community-based testing in northern, remote, and isolated communities including $1.2 million to the BC Centre for Disease Control and BC’s First Nations Health Authority to build on previous community-based testing initiatives, including testing for STBBI.

• Efforts to address STBBI in Canada are guided by the Pan-Canadian Framework for Action on STBBI and the Government of Canada Five Year Action Plan on STBBI (Action Plan). 

Associated links

• HIV and Hepatitis C Community Action Fund
• Harm Reduction Fund
• Accelerating our response: Government of Canada five-year action plan on sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections

Guillaume Bertrand
Senior Communications Advisor and Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos
Minister of Health
613-957-0200

Maja Staka
Senior Communications Advisor and Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Carolyn Bennett
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health
343-552-5568

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