First Nations and Inuit Health Branch's HIV/AIDS Program

The HIV/AIDS Program in First Nations and Inuit Health Branch's (FNIHB) Communicable Disease Control Division operates on two levels:

• National level : FNIHB plays a coordinating function and the branch works with national Aboriginal organizations, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and other government of Canada departments and agencies.
• Regional level : FNIHB allocates funds to contribution recipients for the delivery of prevention and education programs in their communities. The regional HIV/AIDS component represents 82% of the program's total budget, and provides funding and related services to the majority of the First Nations on reserve, and to the Inuit communities situated in Northern Labrador.

Long-term goals:

• That First Nations and Inuit Develop knowledge, skills and tools to be able to provide safe and healthy environments to prevent HIV transmission; and
• To support the development of care and support networks for those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS.

These goals will be facilitated by five program objectives:

1. Increase knowledge of the epidemic through supporting community-based research and the analysis of surveillance data;
2. Increase the availability of evidence-based HIV interventions;
3. Increase the awareness among First Nations and Inuit of the need for:
   1. HIV testing;
   2. Access to prevention,
   3. Care and support; and
   4. Supportive environments for people living with or at risk of acquiring HIV;
4. Increase the effective collaboration of new and current partners (communities, FNIHB regional health care providers, and provincial health providers) towards the achievement of a coordinated and integrated response to HIV; and
5. Participate in, and contribute to, the global response to address HIV among indigenous people.

Program components:

• Capacity development
• Knowledge development
• Partnership development
• Coordination, planning, reporting and evaluation