Canadian HIV and AIDS organizations say the international AIDS conference that opens this week in Montreal highlights Canada’s lag in the fight against the disease.
Posted at 1:54 p.m.
They point out that federal government funding has not increased since 2008, even though the number of people living with HIV in Canada has since increased by 25%.
These organizations are calling for the federal government to increase its subsidies up to 100 million annually, unlike the 73 million currently dedicated to this fight.
Former director of Toronto’s HIV Legal Network, Richard Elliott, pointed out that not only has federal funding not increased, but part of that amount dedicated to AIDS research has been used for work on d other sexually transmitted diseases.
He said Ottawa recently dipped into its HIV and AIDS research funds to help organizations control outbreaks of monkeypox that are being reported across the country.
The Executive Director of the Coalition of Quebec Community Organizations for the Fight against AIDS (COCQ-sida), Ken Monteith, said that at its current pace, Canada is not on track to meet global targets for sexual health of people living with HIV.
AIDS 2022, the 24e International AIDS Conference, to be held from July 29 to August 2 at the Palais des Congrès in Montreal.