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aids canada

CANADA PAVILION AT AIDS 2024

Munich, Germany & Virtual

July 22- 26, 2024

The International AIDS Conference is the world’s premier platform for marking achievements, celebrating success, and setting strategic directions in the global HIV/AIDS response. The 25th International AIDS Conference, AIDS 2024, will be held in Munich, Germany, as well as virtually from July 22-26, 2024.

This year, the Canada Pavilion at AIDS 2024 will be hosted by the Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR).

 

AIDS 2024 will provide a powerful platform to strategically align around a unified and equitable response to the pandemic. It will signal to the world that the HIV response is united behind an evidence-based approach that puts people first

Learn more about Canada's HIV response at AIDS 2024

95 - 95 - 95 Targets

95% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status.

95% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy.

95% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression. 

Our people, our histories and our communities

Policy and planning initiatives that address HIV in Canada

Community, support and education based on programming

Canadian involvement in initiatives that support the global response to HIV

Findings from leading HIV/AIDS researchers in Canada

LIVE SESSIONS

Watch presentations from previous years!

Global Lessons, Local Actions: Martin Morberg
03:14

Global Lessons, Local Actions: Martin Morberg

When settlers first arrived on Turtle Island, they imposed their beliefs and systems on the Indigenous peoples of this land. There was a widespread erasure and genocide of Indigenous cultures and ways of life. Western systems continue to cause harm for Indigenous people. What many Indigenous people want Canadians to understand is that Indigenous communities have their own worldviews and holistic approaches to health and wellbeing. Martin Morberg is the Two-Spirit Program Coordinator for the Community-Based Research Centre. “Indigenous people need to be supported in leading their own solutions. Understanding that there's an equal amount of validity to our own approaches, to our own systems as Indigenous people. We can collaborate with the western world and form equitable partnerships. We understand the effectiveness of these western sexual health tools, but we must lead the way in delivering them to our own communities, with our own approaches” he explains. Recently, Martin and the Two-Spirit program at CBRC undertook an important pilot program to try to improve both access to and trust of HIV self-test kits among Indigenous communities. With the guidance of their Two-Spirit community members, they conceptualized an Indigenous approach to the HIV self-test kits, a Medicine Bundle that holds Indigenous medicines and other spiritual items that support someone in their personal journey. According to the Two-Spirit program at CBRC, “the purpose of this Bundle is to bring the sacredness back into sex and offer access to a holistic approach to sexual health needs.” As Martin says, the Medicine Bundle is “A community-driven initiative led by and for Two-Spirit and Indigenous people.” The Medicine Bundle pilot launched in BC, and is will be launching a national expansion in the coming months with the support of CBRC, Communities, Alliances & Networks (CAAN), and other Indigenous organizations. Links https://www.cbrc.net/medicinebundle
Global Lessons, Local Actions: Maureen Owino
02:17

Global Lessons, Local Actions: Maureen Owino

Maureen Owino is a force. An HIV/AIDS activist and scholar, Maureen has been working in the HIV sector in Canada for over 15 years – most recently as the Director of the Committee for Accessible AIDS Treatment (CAAT). Canada is lacking in services, organizations and frameworks for women living with HIV. Maureen attributes this to the lack of support from women’s counterparts in the HIV/AIDS response. “Being real allies means speaking truth to power. Standing up even when it's the most challenging thing to do. Standing up without fear of losing your privilege, or losing your voice,” says Maureen. “I have never stood in a place where I have seen gay white men stand up for women. I have not seen gay white men speak up for Black people publicly. I have not seen the men in this movement stand up and ask why it is we have no services for women. I still am waiting. I want to see them stand up and say it's time we fought for our women. Because the women have been with you every step of the way.” Maureen is addressing the gap in services for women as a co-creator and co-founder of WomenSpeak, the first national network for women Living with HIV. “Our main objective is to do a national needs assessment for women living with HIV to find out what gaps exist, gaps in services, gaps in healthcare, gaps in research – to ensure that within the next five years we will now have different organizations for women; different frameworks of interventions and strategies specifically for women living with HIV nationally.” Links https://paninbc.ca/2022/03/09/women-speak-comunity-building-wlhiv-canada/
Global Lessons, Global Actions: Jade Elektra
01:39

Global Lessons, Global Actions: Jade Elektra

Long before the U=U campaign got underway in 2016, Jade Elektra knew that if you’re a person living with HIV with an undetectable viral load, you cannot pass the virus onto your sexual partners. “You know, I'm no angel. So me and a couple of my partners – you know, things happen or whatever in the heat of the moment – and most of my partners in the past were not HIV positive,” explains the founder of PozPlanet magazine and PozTO Awards. “The concept of I'm undetectable, we just did something that was unsafe – you're fine. That happened a couple times.” While it may not have been news to her, U=U took on a whole new relevance when she performed a cover of Unforgettable, with the key lyric changed to Undetectable, at the AIDS Memorial in Toronto. “From the second that I said the first 'undetectable' on stage. I could just feel the crowd. They were there with me. The warmth. The energy. It was a moment,” Jade recalls. “When I performed that song. That's when I actually understood how important the message was, and how it affected other people to hear that message.” Canada was the first country in the world to endorse the science behind U=U in 2018. And this summer, the Canadian government endorsed a formal global declaration on Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U), which “takes the global commitment to U=U one step further by recognizing the value of the message as a tool to advance efforts to end HIV as a public health concern, and by committing countries to integrate U=U into their policies and programs.” Links https://www.facebook.com/groups/POZPLANET https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2022/07/canada-takes-action-by-endorsing-global-declaration-on-undetectable--untransmittable-uu.html
Global Lessons, Local Actions: Trevor Stratton
02:25

Global Lessons, Local Actions: Trevor Stratton

Trevor Stratton thinks harm reduction may have saved his life. “Before I got HIV, I thought of HIV as a dirty thing. And then when I got HIV, I said, “oh my God, am I one of those people?” When I accessed harm reduction services, they didn't judge me.” Injection drugs are still a primary mode of transmission for HIV. While harm reduction services have at times been politicized, there is no denying that they work. Harm reduction isn’t just about providing safe substance use tools or safe supply, it’s about compassion and humanity. It’s about acknowledging that one life lost to drug toxicity is one life too many. It’s about reducing the negative outcomes that can be a result of injecting drugs. But many people who inject drugs are apprehensive to trust the healthcare system or to access harm reduction services. As Trevor notes, “for Indigenous people, we have a long history of being treated poorly in the healthcare system. The healthcare system was not made by us, or for us.” We need more innovative and accessible tools to get harm reduction to those who need it most but might not otherwise be able to access it. One way is through Our Healthbox, a new, interactive, vending machine that dispenses harm reduction and sexual health supplies, as well as self-tests for HIV and COVID. It’s a confidential and discreet way that can meet Canadians wherever they are, and is being rolled out across the country over the coming years. Links https://www.ourhealthbox.ca/
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