This is a long-awaited response to a call made by community organizations for more than a decade. On Monday, the Canadian government announced it is committing $18 million to expand HIV screenings in Canada.
The announcement came from the 24th International AIDS Conference in Montreal, which ended on Tuesday.
This follows calls by a coalition of HIV organizations to increase federal HIV spending from $73 million to $100 million annually.
About $8 million will be allocated to purchase self-test kits and distribute them to community organizations across the country. The other $9.9 million will go to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg to expand HIV testing in northern, remote or isolated (NRI) communities.
They won’t have to travel many hours to get tests.—Angel Rees, Education and Communications Coordinator
Angel Rees is the Education and Communications Coordinator at Réseau Access Network in Sudbury. She said the news is important for both community organizations and the people they serve — especially in the far reaches of the country.
“The federal government is really committed to removing barriers,” she said.
“There are systemic barriers to accessing HIV testing that include stigma and discrimination in many health care facilities and AIDS service organizations, and HIV self-testing helps remove some of these barriers.”
The Canadian government estimates that there are nearly 63,000 people living with HIV in Canada, and one in 10 of them do not know they have the virus.
About $8 million will be allocated to purchase self-test kits and distribute them to community organizations across the country. The other $9.9 million will go to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg to expand HIV testing in northern, remote or isolated (NRI) communities. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
Health Canada approved the first HIV self-test in late 2020. It’s a one-minute finger-prick blood test from Richmond, British Columbia-based bioLytical Laboratories Inc.
According to a statement released by the federal government, the funds are also intended to help speed up diagnosis within communities, as specimens can be tested on site and do not need to be sent elsewhere.
The Canadian government said it is also looking to apply lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to HIV/AIDS.
“During the pandemic, molecular testing for COVID-19 was implemented in health facilities in First Nations communities across Canada to improve access to testing and improve turnaround time. The ‘testing close to home’ option is critical to equitable access to testing and to closing the gap in testing capacity in remote communities,” the government said in a statement.
According to Riess, the self-testing kits will make a big difference for people in remote communities and could eventually increase the number of people getting tested.
“Bringing the same model to HIV testing will be beneficial because people will be able to access it from anywhere. They won’t have to travel many hours to get tested,” Rice said.
She added that the Réseau access network in Sudbury is now a self-test site, in partnership with the Ready to Know program. If a community member tests positive for HIV, Reseau Access Network is ready to connect them with the care they need.
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