Advocates want funding restored for community AIDS programs
10.10.2008 20:05
Health
- Source: cbc.ca
A coalition of AIDS advocacy groups are calling on Canada's next federal government to restore funding they say the Conservatives diverted from support programs for people living with AIDS and HIV. In 2004-2005, an all-party agreement promised to increase federal AIDS funding from $42.2 million to $84.4 million a year by 2009. The funding was to go toward research, community support for those living with HIV and AIDS and programs for people most at risk for HIV infection. Instead, the funding is about 15 per cent short of that target, said a news release issued Thursday by the Canadian AIDS Society and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, a coalition of several hundred community-based organizations. About $11.8 million of the $84.4 million will not be released as intended, said the AIDS Society. Some of the funding has been redirected to the development of an HIV vaccine and away from treatment, support, and prevention — a move that advocates say has had a crippling effect on Canada's fight against AIDS. Throughout the federal election campaign, the coalition of advocacy groups asked the five major political parties about their support for funding AIDS programs and their stance on including treatment and harm-reduction initiatives, such as safe injection sites and needle exchanges, in the national drug strategy. According to the organizations, unsafe drug use is a key factor driving the spread of HIV and hepatitis C virus in Canada. The country has about 60,000 people infected with HIV, with a few thousand news cases diagnosed every year. The Bloc, the New Democrats, the Liberals and the Green party — either through their party platforms or in their response to the questionnaires sent out by the two organizations — have backed harm-reduction programs and stable federal AIDS funding, but there has been no response to the questionnaire from the Conservatives, said Monique Doolittle-Romas, executive director of the AIDS Society. The advocacy groups accused the Conservatives of favouring punishment over harm reduction and treatment in the National Anti-Drug Strategy they launched last year despite evidence that the latter approaches have proven effective in Canada and elsewhere. Prior to the election, Health Minister Tony Clement called Vancouver's supervised injection site "a slippery slope." With files from the Canadain PressStory Tools: E-MAIL | PRINT | Text Size: SMLXL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACKRelatedInternal LinksIN DEPTH: AIDS, the global epidemicCanadian researchers call for end to 'politicization' of scienceExternal LinksCanadian AIDS Society election pageCanadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network election page(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - links will open in new window) Health HeadlinesEconomic downturn poses threat to mental health: WHO The added stress of a global economic downturn could lead to a rise in mental health problems, the World Health Organization said Friday.Morgentaler receives Order of Canada in Quebec CityAbortion-rights activist Dr. Henry Morgentaler received his Order of Canada award on Friday at a ceremony in Quebec City.Strep strain not a widespread threat: health officialsA potentially deadly strain of streptococcal infections that contributed to the deaths of 10 people in northwestern Ontario doesn't pose a widespread threat, the province's chief medical officer of health says.Most recent listeria finding 'very, very low,' says Maple Leaf CEO Maple Leaf's CEO says the most recent findings of listeria at the company's Toronto plant are a sign its testing system is working.Nobel Prize winner George Palade, cell biology pioneer, dies at 95Dr. George Palade, who won a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1974 for his work discovering and studying the components of cells, has died. Health FeaturesIN DEPTHNobel PrizeFrom Alfred's willISSUE WATCHHealth careWhy MDs are scarce and what can be done about itHEALTHPsychologyInside the endurance athlete's mindHEALTH CAREMapNursing homes across CanadaHEALTHTuberculosisAnatomy of a killerCHILD PSYCHOLOGYPoliticians' behaviourHow do we explain it to our kids?People who read this also read …
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