Category: News | Page 10

Holding governments accountable: Canada’s progress on viral hepatitis elimination

July 7, 2021 • By Jennifer van Gennip

In May 2021, Action Hepatitis Canada (AHC) released its Progress Toward Viral Hepatitis Elimination in Canada 2021 Report. Five years earlier, in May 2016, Canada had signed on to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) first-ever Global Viral Hepatitis Strategy with the goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. With both a cure for hepatitis C (HCV) and a vaccine for hepatitis B (HBV), this seemed to be a very realistic goal within a reasonable timeframe. But five years on, we had important questions about how Canada was really doing as time was ticking on.

Sharing the voices of people with lived experience on World Hepatitis Day

July 7, 2021 • By Conor Ashleigh, Nikitah Habraken and Christopher Hoy

Launched in 2019, the Connecting with Care films profile innovative models of hepatitis C care for people who use drugs in Toronto, Montreal and Ahtahkakoop First Nation. These films were a partnership between the International Network on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users (INHSU), the Canadian Network on Hepatitis C (CanHepC) and CATIE. In a recent webinar, we reconnected with the people in these films to learn how they have adapted and responded to the needs of their community during COVID-19. Central to these films was the impact of people with lived experience in planning and delivering harm reduction and...

Improving HIV testing and care in Canada: I’m Ready and Sex Now – Test@Home

June 27, 2021 • By Dr. Sean B. Rourke and Prof. Nathan Lachowsky

HIV self-testing was approved in Canada in November 2020, largely thanks to research conducted by REACH Nexus, part of Unity Health Toronto’s Map Centre for Urban Health Solutions. But approval does not mean access – the next step is getting self-tests into the hands of people who don’t know they have HIV, and linking them to follow-up treatment and care.

The waniska Centre: Strengthening land- and culture-based research

June 21, 2021 • By Sarah MacDonald, Rebecca Zagozewski and Dr. Alexandra King

The waniska Indigenous Centre for HIV, hepatitis C (HCV) and sexually transmitted blood-borne illness (STBBI), funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and based at the University of Saskatchewan, is going to undertake research in a new way. It will engage Indigenous communities and people in research that is focused on Indigenous knowledge and the land to develop, explore and scale up promising and wise practices using both an Indigenous and Western lens.

Connecting: A new resource for frontline harm reduction workers

June 14, 2021 • By Denise Beaumont

“I guess the term ‘quick reference’ is standing out in my mind, like something that’s very, very fast. Because if it’s too wordy I’m not going to have any time ─ something that is like a frequently asked questions kind of thing. A very quick and easy way to get the answer immediately, you know.” – frontline harm reduction worker in Ontario When frontline harm reduction staff were asked to describe the most effective resources to support them in their work with people who use drugs, they were clear about what they needed. The Best Practice Recommendations for Canadian Harm...

Making health equity a priority: Ensuring secure and dignified access to COVID-19 vaccines

May 31, 2021 • By Nadjla Banaei

It is estimated that there are up to 500,000 undocumented residents in Canada, many of whom are Ontario residents. Many of these individuals are our neighbours, colleagues, friends, childcare providers and essential workers, including healthcare heroes working the front lines. They are valuable members of our society who contribute in various ways including, but not limited to, paying taxes, maintaining our food supply, taking care of our children and elderly and supporting our healthcare system. Despite Toronto being named a sanctuary city, we live in a city and province that continues to exclude migrants and undocumented residents from many basic...