AIDS in Canada

Is AIDS still a problem in Canada?

According to the Globe and Mail, the number of annual cases of HIV-AIDS in Canada & the United States has grown back to 1982 levels, when the epidemic first swept across the globe.

Check out these Canadian statistics:

• In 2008, there were approximately 3,300 new HIV infections and the rates are steadily rising, while they have leveled in the U.S.
• 73,000 Canadians are HIV-positive.
• More than a quarter of Canadians who are HIV-positive are not aware of their status.

Young Canadians remain surprisingly uneducated about the risks of HIV/AIDS.

• A quarter of sexually-active teenagers admitted to not using a condom during their last sexual encounter.
• More than half of Canadian grade 9 students wrongly believe there is a cure for AIDS.

Fortunately, Canadians have the resources to educate each other about the risks of HIV/AIDS, and to help find a cure for AIDS.

The Have a Heart for CANFAR campaign is dedicated to helping young Canadians teach each other about HIV/AIDS.

• This year, the campaign, which takes place around Valentine's Day, will reach over one million students.
• Have a Heart for CANFAR takes place in every province in territory across Canada.
• A record-breaking 2,000+ schools will be taking part in the 2011 campaign.

When it comes to research, Canada is one of a handful of countries with the intellectual capital, infrastructure and resources to make a significant difference in the global fight against AIDS. Advanced HIV/AIDS research is happening in hospitals and universities across the country. Since 1987, CANFAR has proudly funded over $17 million in Canadian research projects.

CANFAR-funded researchers have discovered:

• A key component of the drug treatment that is keeping many people alive today;
• Findings that have nearly eliminated the risk of HIV transmission between a mother and her baby; and
• An HIV vaccine candidate that can reduce, and sometimes prevent, HIV progression.

In 2010, the government of Canada announced that it, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, would invest $88 million into collaborative research aimed at developing candidates for HIV vaccines. $30 million will go preventing HIV transmission between mother and child in developing countries.

"Canada has the expertise, experience and resources to make a significant contribution to this global effort to develop HIV vaccines," said federal Industry Minister Tony Clement.

AIDS in Canada is still a problem. But with your help, we have the power to get rid of it forever.