Aboriginal Aids Awareness conference being held in Regina. Photo by Manfred Joehnck
The number of new HIV cases in Saskatchewan is continuing the decline started in 2010, but the infection rate is still by far the highest in Canada and most of the victims are aboriginal.
On behalf of the health department, Parks Minister Mark Docherty talked about the significance of the numbers and the importance of dealing with the high infection rate during an Aboriginal Aids Awareness conference being held in Regina. He says there is a little good news to report.
“We are making a little bit of headway, slowly, but there is more work to be done.” He says
According to the provincial HIV report, there were 112 new HIV cases reported in Saskatchewan last year, down 13 per cent from 2013. Docherty says despite the progress, there is a still of lot of misinformation out there.
“Get rid of the stigma, you know, it’s a disease that has had a discriminatory tone to it,” he said. “It is important that we get rid of all of the myths and that people understand what it is and that there is some hope.”
One of the presenters at the two-day conference is Sylvia McAdam, a co-founder of the idle no more movement. She talked about reconnecting with the past in order to provide a better future.
“We need to breathe life back into the role of women,” she said. “And that is all about health and well-being and those dialogues and discussions need to happen more.”
In Saskatchewan more than 70 per cent of the new HIV cases reported last year were in the aboriginal community, with 40 per cent of the cases in the Saskatoon health region.
This is Aboriginal Aids Awareness week in Canada.