World AIDS Day 2008: Here's hoping it doesn't get lost amidst the excitement in Ottawa

Going through my RSS news and blog feeds, there is definitely no shortage of things to blog about today. Constitutional wrangling and coalition governments, Liberal Leadership, the idiotic “Coup d’état” comments coming from CPC supporters, Somalian Pirates, and Alaskan Turkeys. However, among the headlines lies a reminder that today, December 1st, is world AIDS day. While the concept of a new PM and coalition government may indeed be appealing, here are some thoughts on this oft forgotten topic.

According to the Canadian AIDS society, there are an estimated 58,000 Canadians living with HIV/AIDS – up 16% since 2002, with 11 new people becoming infected every day. Infection rate for Aboriginal Canadians is 7.5%, yet Aboriginals make up only 3% of the population. Globally, 33 million people are living with HIV, and 2.7 million were infected in 2007 alone. While researchers have come a long way since the dark days of the pandemic, it is clear that there remains yet a long road to be traveled before the scourge of HIV is defeated.

The first step to combating HIV/AIDS in Canada should be expanding supervised injection facilities like the Insite Clinc in Vancouver to other large urban areas. Supervised Injection Facilities have been shown to decrease HIV infection among injection drug users, as well as decreasing crime and addiction levels, and could be a great tool in beating the illness at home. The problem is, we need a government that is committed to dealing with the issue.

In 2006, months after taking office, Prime Minister Harper skipped the World AIDS Conference in Toronto, and rightly took flack for it. This past year, the Health Minister spoke out against Safe Injection Sites, and the government appealed the BC Supreme Court ruling in favour of the Insite clinic.

Personally, I hope the next few days will bring us a government that views HIV/AIDS in Canada and around the world as a problem; and while I know the concept of a new government (and the bargaining that to bring it about) may be more exciting, I hope our leaders don’t forget to recognize today, honour the achievements we’ve made, and accept the long road yet to be traveled.

Elsewhere on World AIDS Day
We Move To Canada
Liberal Party (The only party to recognize the day on their website so far)