ABOUT HIV/AIDS IN CANADA

ViiV Healthcare is a specialist HIV company dedicated to delivering advances in treatment and care for people living with HIV/AIDS.

HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus and is responsible for causing AIDS. In Canada, approximately 62,790 people are living with HIV infection or AIDS.1 In 2020, the estimated incidence (i.e., number of people newly diagnosed with HIV or AIDS that year) was 1,520.1

But that doesn’t give us the whole picture. There’s a hidden epidemic of undiagnosed HIV infection: There’s a hidden epidemic of undiagnosed HIV infection. In 2020, an estimated 16,690 people in Canada were not engaged or represented in the HIV care continuum.1 Because of this, they have no opportunity to benefit from effective treatment and appropriate counselling.

Among those living with HIV in Canada, an estimated 90% were diagnosed. Of those diagnosed, 87% were estimated to be on treatment and an estimated 95% of persons on treatment had a suppressed viral load. In turn, an estimated 16,690 Canadians were not engaged or represented in HIV care across the country.1

In Canada, as in the rest of the world, HIV doesn’t play favourites. It infects women and men; it infects people of all ages and ethnicities and skin colours. However, there are several groups in Canada who are at greater risk of infection:2

  • gay and other men who have sex with men;
  • people who use injection drugs;
  • people from countries where HIV is endemic;
  • Aboriginal Peoples;
  • people in prisons;
  • youth at risk;
  • women at risk;
  • people living with HIV/AIDS.

Of those who do receive a diagnosis, one third do not undergo treatment. Only by reaching out effectively to groups at risk will we realise UNAIDS's vision of Getting to Zero: zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, zero AIDS-related deaths.

Getting to Zero is doable only if we eliminate discrimination against and stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS. It means providing access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support.

Compared with the earlier decades (1980–2000) of the epidemic, many people living with HIV/AIDS are now enjoying a longer life. This is thanks to advances in antiretroviral therapy and other medications for side effects of treatment. However, these advances bring new medical, psychological and social challenges such as living with chronic disease, coping with concurrent illness and managing drug resistance.

Through its products and programs, ViiV Healthcare Canada is committed to tackling these challenges in an effort to bring long-term, effective solutions to those whose lives are touched by HIV.

References:

  1. Public Health Agency of Canada. Estimates of HIV incidence, prevalence and Canada’s progress on meeting the 90-90-90 HIV targets, 2020. Accessed February 27, 2023
  2. https://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/aids-sida/publication/ps-pd/youth-jeunes/assets/pdf/youth-jeunes-eng.pdf
  3. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/hiv-aids.html