CATIE Blog | Page 22 | HIV and hepatitis C news and opinions

COVID-19 in prisons: What needs to be done in Ontario

July 27, 2020 • By Claudia Medina, Eveline Allen, Chris McNab and Nicole Alexander

Immediately after Ontario declared the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as being a public health emergency in mid-March 2020, all visits from family and friends and programming were suspended in prisons in the province.

With little information from the Ministry of the Solicitor General regarding their efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Prisoners’ HIV/AIDS Support Action Network (PASAN) was flooded with phone calls from prisoners concerned about their health and the well-being of their family and friends.

Five ways to sustain the hepatitis C elimination efforts in Canada

July 6, 2020 • By Christopher Hoy

This June, CATIE and the Canadian Network on Hepatitis C (CanHepC) co-hosted a webinar on sustaining the hepatitis C response before and after the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. We invited leaders in the hepatitis C field to explore the challenges that the pandemic has posed for hepatitis C elimination efforts, but also the opportunities that could be leveraged. Here are just five of the ways we can do this:

The challenges of STI testing during COVID-19

June 26, 2020 • By Kirk Furlotte and Abbey Ferguson

Nova Scotia is no stranger to syphilis. Back in 2012, the province saw a spike in cases – almost double compared to the year before. In early 2020, another outbreak was identified with a 60% increase between 2018 and 2019. This latest outbreak was different in two key ways: it was predominantly among women, and not focused solely in Halifax.

Gendering the Scene: We need to listen to women and gender-diverse people who use drugs

June 22, 2020 • By Sandra Ka Hon Chu and Cécile Kazatchkine

Over the past several years, Canada has been in the grip of an overdose crisis. We have seen the devastating effects both of a contaminated drug supply and of punitive laws that restrict access of people who use drugs to effective treatment and support. Now we are facing the twin crisis of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which has radically altered the way we interact with one another and affected the drug supply chain.

Talking about HIV during COVID-19: How the Strong Medicine Guide can help you structure your conversations

June 19, 2020 • By Jessica Chenery, Harlan Pruden, Felicia Tebb and Amanda Porter

Are you interested in hosting a conversation in your community or organization about HIV? Looking for some tips on how to do this? Look no further than the just launched Strong Medicine Guide, an accompanying resource for the Strong Medicine film that came out in 2018.

Beyond prescriptions: Equitable hepatitis C care for people who inject drugs

June 10, 2020 • By Trevor Goodyear

In Canada, people who inject drugs have led long, hard-fought, and ongoing campaigns for human rights-based drug policies and health services. Unfortunately, this community activism has often been met with varying degrees of government and healthcare system inaction.