This announcement from Canada’s Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos responds to criticism from organizations regarding the cost of self-tests. At the start of the International AIDS Conference, which is being held at the Palais des Congrès, COCQ-Sida CEO Ken Monteith recalled that these self-tests cost $35 each and that their approval did not come until 2020. , eight years following the United States.
“Although this is an important step for many people affected by HIV, we are aware that there is still much to do,” said Minister Duclos. Discreet, quick, easy to do at home… HIV self-testing will become more accessible in Canada, where thousands of people live with the human immunodeficiency virus without knowing it; a factor that contributes to continuous transmission.
The self-tests will be given, among others, to organizations serving the Aboriginal, Black, LGBTQ2 communities, and drug users. Community organizations already involved in distributing HIV self-testing kits since their approval in 2020 will distribute new ones on a larger scale, particularly among populations affected by HIV, thanks to funding of $8 million.
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the advantages of this category of home tests, argues the Public Health Agency of Canada, which recognizes their great usefulness in remote communities, where access to screening is s turns out to be more complex.
Canada will also invest $9.9 million to support the work of the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, added the Minister of Health.
HIV incidence rates are 60 times higher among people who inject drugs, regarding 40 times higher among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with sexually active men, and nearly four times high among Indigenous populations, according to data from the Public Health Agency in 2020.
Ken Monteith of COCQSIDA and Jody Jollimore of CBRC both expressed that this was a good first step from the federal government, but support should be sustained and not just ad hoc. This was recognized by the Minister of Health.
2030 goal
At least 63,000 people are living with HIV in Canada, 10% of whom have not been diagnosed, estimates the federal agency responsible for public health.
Recall that Canada is committed to achieving the global goal of eradicating HIV and AIDS as public health threats by 2030.
As part of the 95-95-95 targets of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, the Canadian government must help ensure that 95% of people in Canada living with HIV are aware of their situation, that 95% of people diagnosed with the infection receive antiretroviral treatment and that 95% of those treated have their viral load suppressed.
