High Rates of HIV/AIDS within Aboriginal Communities, the Red Road and other

initiatives to address these needs

By. Nava K.

Are First Nations and Inuit populations more at risk of

HIV/AIDS?HIV rates have been steadily increasing in First Nations and Inuit populations. They are at increased risk for HIV infections for several reasons. Social, economic, and behavioural factors such as

• poverty,

• substance use,

• injection drug use,

• sexually transmitted diseases,

• limited access to health services

have increased their vulnerability.

Facts• HIV is the newest disease to threaten the Aboriginal People

• The number of HIV/AIDS cases is increasing in the Aboriginal population

• Initiatives are trying to prevent the disease and assist those affected and provide community support for families of those living with HIV or AIDS

• Aboriginal people experienced HIV at rates about 3.6 times higher than other Canadians in 2008.

• Even though the Aboriginal population only represented 3.8% of the general Canadian population, Aboriginal people represented about 8% of all people living with HIV and AIDS, and about 12.5% of new HIV and AIDS cases diagnosed in Canada in 2008

• Injection drug use is the main category of HIV exposure for Aboriginal people

• Aboriginal people are significantly overrepresented in the Canadian prison system where there is a higher risk of contracting HIV

• The Aboriginal population is more vulnerable to contracting HIV and AIDS because of a variety of factors and social determinants of health

Positive & Negative rates

Negative HIV Aboriginal Non-Aboriginal

Reported AIDS diagnoses 1979-2008

#=690 #=16,134

15 years 1.2% 1.2%15-19 years 0.1% 0.3%19-29 years 19.1% 14.5%30-39 years 45.2% 43.4%40-49 years 25.7% 28.5%50-59 years 6.7% 8.9%60+ years 2.0% 3.2%

Positive HIV Aboriginal Non-Aboriginal

Reported AIDS diagnoses 1979-2008

#=1891 #=5986

15 years 0.8 0.6%15-19 years 4.8% 1.0%19-29 years 27.9% 19.6%30-39 years 36.0% 35.8%40-49 years 23.4% 27.6%50-59 years 7.2% 15.4%

• These rates represent that the disease is infecting and affecting the Aboriginal youth population at extremely high levels.

• At CAAN, they work to prevent HIV/AIDS infections; also provide support for testing diagnosis and raise care or treatment of Aboriginal People living with the disease.

• A way of looking how HIV/AIDS affects and infects Aboriginal people and youth is through Epidemiological information. (e.g. reports of cases of the disease, how it was transmitted and what populations are being infected through statistics).

• HIV test reports indicate that Aboriginal cases tend to be younger than non-Aboriginal cases

• Between 1979 and 2008 19.3% of reported AIDs among Aboriginal.

Positive & Negative rates

HELP!• Effective strategies to lower the infection will recognize

that the youth population is very diverse. Success of this strategy requires consideration f flexible programming and jurisdictions, multiple ethnicity, geographic locations, levels of social isolation, language, risk behaviours or combination of these factors.

• The population that HIV and AIDS impacts mostly on are:✦ Aboriginal people living with HIV or AIDS✦ Aboriginal Children✦ Aboriginal Men✦ Aboriginal Women✦ Aboriginal who inject drugs and use drugs✦ Aboriginal with Development Disabilities✦ Aboriginal people who are street-involved✦ Aboriginal involved in the sex-trade✦ Aboriginals who have been or are prisoners• The most common treatment or HIV is

HAART(Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy)

THE RED ROAD HIV/AIDS NETWORKThe BC Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Task Force was established in 1996 to bring

together on and off reserve organizations and projects dealing with HIV/AIDS. The Task Force worked to increase the network of those living with HIV/AIDS, the professionals working in the field. One of the primary achievements of the Task Force has been the development and implementation of the Red Road: Pathways to Wholeness, An Aboriginal Strategy for HIV and AIDS in BC.

The Strategy, which was officially launched on February 1, 1999, is a pathway to increase the quality of life of all Aboriginal people. This is accomplished by respecting and integrating the traditional and cultural values and beliefs of individuals, families and communities. The Strategy supports the use of those traditions in the treatment of HIV/AIDS in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities. The Strategy contains 50 recommendations to address Aboriginal HIV/AIDS in BCAn integral part of the accomplishment of the Strategy is the creation of the Red Road HIV/AIDS Network (RRHAN) which incorporated on May 7, 1999. The purpose of the Network is to:

•reduce or prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS• improve the health and wellness of Aboriginal people living with HIV/AIDS• increase awareness about HIV/AIDS and establish a network which supports the development and delivery of culturally appropriate, innovative, coordinated, accessible, inclusive and accountable HIV/AIDS programs and services

The Red Road HIV/AIDS Network (RRHAN) is a provincial based Aboriginal Organization. Red Road's 125 plus membership capacity is comprised of:• Aboriginal AIDS Service Organizations (ASO), • non-Aboriginal AIDS Service Organizations who have Aboriginal

programs, Aboriginal Persons living with HIV/AIDS (APHA), • and Aboriginal community-based organizations who have HIV/AIDS

programs,

located in urban & rural British Columbia.

THE RED ROAD HIV/AIDS NETWORK