Category: News | Page 3

New Canadian hepatitis C estimates tell us how far we’ve come (and how far we have to go)

July 4, 2023 • By Melisa Dickie and Shannon Elliot

Canada has joined countries around the world in committing to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health threat by 2030. However, how do we know if we’re on track to reach that goal and how do we measure our progress along the way? Fortunately, the World Health Organization established targets in its Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis, which have been adapted to the Canadian context by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). These targets lay out a path to elimination with concrete objectives, that include a 90% reduction in new hepatitis C infections by 2030, as...

Progress toward viral hepatitis elimination in Canada: Holding governments accountable

May 11, 2023 • By Jennifer van Gennip

On May 11, 2023, Action Hepatitis Canada (AHC) released its Progress Toward Viral Hepatitis Elimination in Canada 2023 Report. This is an update on the 2021 report and provides an analysis of each province and territory’s progress toward eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, a goal set by the World Health Organization (WHO). With a cure for hepatitis C and a vaccine for hepatitis B, this is an ambitious yet realistic goal. Two years after the initial report, we wanted to see what progress had been made in adopting person-centred policies through a health equity lens,...

What kind of effect does opioid use disorder medication have on opioid cravings?

April 25, 2023 • By Matthew Bonn

Buprenorphine with naloxone (also known as Suboxone) and methadone are two of the most widely used medications prescribed as opioid agonist therapy (OAT) to treat opioid use disorders in Canada. The aim of OAT is to replace the use of unregulated opioids with a safe and legal therapeutic medication that can prevent opioid cravings and withdrawal symptoms. This can in turn reduce the risk of overdose and other potential harms of opioid use disorder but it is not meant for everyone. In addition to these treatments, we also need greater access to safe supply, which is defined as a legal...

The Medicine Bundle: An Indigenous approach to HIV self-testing

February 15, 2023 • By Lane Bonertz

In April 2022, the Two-Spirit Program at Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC) launched the pilot of the Medicine Bundle, an HIV self-testing initiative in British Columbia created by and for Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ Indigenous folks. The pilot emerged from nearly two years of consultation and engagement with Elders, activists, researchers and community members within the Two-Spirit community, who provided guidance on culturally sensitive and intentional ways to address disparities in access to HIV testing. Following its initial run in August 2022, the Medicine Bundle has now returned to once again serve Indigenous folks wishing to access HIV self-testing. This time around,...

The Northern, Remote and Isolated Indigenous Communities Initiative: Community-based testing from COVID-19 to HIV and STBBI

February 15, 2023 • By Adrienne Meyers and Paul Sandstrom

Access to HIV and STBBI testing Laboratory testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI) can be inaccessible to certain populations such as northern, remote and isolated Indigenous (NRI) communities. This is due to several factors, such as: Decentralized, community-owned, community-based testing (CBT) and health services help address these factors and reduce historical health inequities faced by people living in NRI communities throughout Canada. Providing a variety of innovative testing options can be particularly useful for reaching the undiagnosed by offering greater accessibility, privacy and convenience, as well as by reducing the stigma associated with accessing conventional...

HIV self-testing: a new tool in our toolbox

February 15, 2023 • By Ayibatonye Oriakhi and Christie Johnston

HIV self-testing has arrived in Canada! As we reported a few months ago, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) announced new funding to increase access to HIV self-testing. Since then, community-based organizations across the country have been distributing HIV self-test kits for free, as well as supporting their clients to use them. Distribution began in November 2022 and is expected to continue at least until March 2023. Together with PHAC, Communities, Alliances & Networks (CAAN), CATIE, Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC) and REACH Nexus are collaborating to support frontline workers to incorporate self-testing into their services. We are working with...