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Undetectable=Untransmittable – CATIE signs on

 January 13, 2017 •  By Laurie Edmiston

All of us here at CATIE, and indeed around the world, are celebrating the most significant development in the HIV world since the advent of effective combination therapy 20 years ago – people living with HIV with sustained undetectable viral loads can confidently declare to their sexual partners “I’m not infectious!” The “fabulousness” of this news cannot be overstated. With or without a condom, if you’re undetectable you won’t pass along HIV! This is an absolute game-changer and those who live with HIV can proudly share this information. At the same time, service providers working in HIV must get up...

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Spreading the good news about HIV treatment and prevention

 December 1, 2016 •  By Laurie Edmiston

Good news? On this World AIDS Day, 2016, there is a lot to report. The science of treatment and prevention has much to inspire agencies delivering needed services to people living with, and at risk of, HIV. We know that there are significant health benefits for people with HIV to begin treatment as soon as possible after diagnosis. Early treatment with good adherence in order to maintain an undetectable viral load allows an HIV-positive person to live a long and healthy life. A ground-breaking study called START (Strategic Timing of Antiretroviral Treatment) found that immediate treatment upon an HIV diagnosis...

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From CWGHR to realize: A Coming of Age Story

 October 11, 2016 •  By Tammy C. Yates

Picture it … Quebec City, 1998, thirty people with diverse interests, identities and professions meet to discuss the idea of HIV and rehabilitation for the first time. All were curious, but unsure of the connection between rehabilitation and HIV prevention, treatment, care and support and the role they could play. There the Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation (CWGHR) was born! As people were no longer expecting to die of AIDS, this group of pioneers could see that rehabilitation – in a broad sense – was key to enabling people living with HIV to not only survive, but also thrive.

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We need to address the unique and complex issues of Indigenous people living with HIV

 October 4, 2016 •  By Cécile Kazatchkine and Sandra Ka Hon Chu

Indigenous people in Canada are disproportionately affected by HIV, representing 10.8 per cent of new HIV infections and 9.1 per cent of people living with HIV in Canada.[1]  In Saskatchewan alone, the number of Indigenous people living with HIV is around twice the national average and the highest in Canada and “one of the few places in the industrialized world where people are still dying from AIDS and HIV.” Lack of access to HIV treatment and care among other complex factors contributes to these alarming rates: in many rural or remote areas, HIV-specific services are simply not available, or the small...

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The Canadian Consensus Statement. Sign it. Use it. I have and here’s why.

 September 13, 2016 •  By Glenn Betteridge

Many of you may have noticed the ebb and flow of the community-based HIV movement, influenced by medical and scientific breakthroughs, funder priorities, community activism and larger political, social and economic forces.  Throughout my 20-plus years in HIV community-based work and volunteering, I have tried to ground myself in a few bedrocks as a way of anchoring my work. The essential connection between health and human rights. The need for policies, programs and services grounded in evidence and lived experience. Recognition of the central role played by the social determinants of health. And a commitment to social justice and taking...

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