With more than 600 cases of monkeypox in the country, more than half of them in Quebec, the federal government is offering a few hundred thousand dollars to community organizations that promise to fight the stigma associated with the disease.
“It is important to remember that anyone, regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status and ethnic identity can become infected and transmit monkeypox if they come in close contact. with a person with this disease, ”said Montreal Minister Steven Guilbeault on Thursday.
Mr. Guilbeault represented his colleague the Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, to announce the distribution of $ 350,000 in federal funds to organizations responsible for providing “up-to-date information” on the epidemic. His speech was briefly interrupted by an environmental activist who accused him of a “climate crime” for recently approving the Bay du Nord oil project.
The RÉZO organization in Montreal will receive the largest share of the announced amount, ie $150,000, with the rest being divided equally between organizations in Toronto and Ottawa. These sums are drawn from a Community Action Fund against HIV and Hepatitis C, totaling $1 million, already announced.
The director general of RÉZO, Alexandre Dumont Blais, praised the “very strong response” of the gay community of Montreal in the face of the epidemic, in particular by the vaccination campaign which would take place smoothly. His organization demystifies and offers advice on the risks of exposure to the disease, shares information on the vaccine.
“Compared to stigma, when we speak in the media that one community is affected more than another, we had fears,” he testifies.
As of Wednesday, the federal government has identified 604 people with monkeypox, including 320 in Quebec and 230 in Ontario. The Public Health Agency of Canada provides daily monitoring of the evolution of the number of cases.