Speech by the Minister of Health - The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq - XIX International AIDS Conference - Strategic Directions to Overcome the Impact of HIV on Indigenous Communities

July 24, 2012
Washington, DC, USA

Check Against Delivery

Thank you for the kind introduction.  Good afternoon everyone. Welcome to the Bridging Session, "Strategic Directions to Overcome the Impact of HIV on Indigenous Communities".

I would like to thank the International AIDS Society for their invitation to deliver opening remarks at today's important session.  The impact of HIV and AIDS on indigenous and aboriginal populations is a significant issue in Canada, so I'm pleased that organizers have made Indigenous issues an important part of the AIDS 2012 conference program. 

I am glad to see so many of you here today.  This is a unique opportunity to learn from each other, exchange ideas and potentially return home with a new perspective on addressing such a challenging health issue.

My perspective on health issues has been shaped, in part, by the fact that I am Inuit: I was born in the Northern Territory of Nunavut and it is the area that I represent in Canada's Parliament.   I also served as Nunavut's Health Minister prior to being elected to the federal government and becoming Canada's Health Minister in 2008.

Canada's Aboriginal population is made up of many communities; each with its own heritage, language and traditions. There are First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities across our vast country.

To give you a sense of the impact of HIV and AIDS on this particular population in Canada, aboriginal people represent roughly four per cent of our overall population, but account for eight per cent of all those living with HIV and AIDS, and more than 12 per cent of all new infections.

Compared to the general population of Canada, Aboriginal peoples experience poorer health and socio-economic conditions, which obviously has an important link to health. That is why the Canadian government is investing significantly in education and working to increase participation in the economy.  We believe these investments will pay off in the long run not just financially, but with better health for aboriginal people and all Canadians.

In other words, we are not going to ignore the underlying factors that contribute to the higher infection rates when we are developing programs to reverse that trend.

Reducing the rate of HIV infections among Aboriginal peoples is important to Canadians, and for our government.  We think that all countries with Indigenous populations should share best practices so that we can make real progress faster than if we were each working alone.

The path forward with respect to HIV and AIDS in Indigenous populations should be one that we chart together.

In that spirit, I would like to share with you a little bit of what we are doing in Canada.

We are working with Aboriginal communities to develop community-based approaches to promote awareness and prevent the spread of HIV.

We are also taking a community-based approach to research. We believe that our methodology should be based on the unique circumstances of an Aboriginal community. We expect to get better information about HIV and AIDS epidemiology that we can use as a foundation for controlling and preventing its spread. 

Lasting change also has to come from within the community. That's the reason why community involvement has been an essential element of research and action on HIV and AIDS in Aboriginal communities since the beginning of the epidemic.

Our chief research agency, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, supports research that engages communities at every stage. It begins with the definition of the research question and continues by getting members of the community to help conduct the research and then help share the results of the research.

This kind of approach lets Aboriginal communities define the problem, understand its origins, and develop and implement culturally appropriate solutions. 

Our commitment to Aboriginal peoples in Canada extends to our international collaboration.

We are pleased to support the International Indigenous Working Group on HIV and AIDS, which strengthens partnerships to make sure that aboriginal communities are more accurately represented in the global response to HIV and AIDS.  

Canada believes that the work of the International Indigenous Working Group is an important part of efforts to address this global health challenge.

Our greatest hope is to develop an HIV vaccine. The Government of Canada is working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate the development of a safe and effective HIV vaccine. Most recently, we approved funding for five new research projects in which Canadian scientists are paired with international partners.

By working together, we are sharing the development of the expertise that we will continue to need for decades to come.

The world has come to recognize that the health needs of Indigenous people are not the same as those of the population at large. And, ultimately, Indigenous people will help solve health problems in their communities, even one as challenging as HIV and AIDS.

Today, we have an excellent panel of speakers who will each touch on some of the initiatives underway in their own regions to help prevent the spread of HIV among their Indigenous communities and support those that are living with HIV and AIDS.

Thanks again for attending this session and I hope we can help keep up the momentum we need to have a positive impact on the lives of Indigenous people and communities around the world.

Thank you.