HIV rates among aboriginals a crisis, says expert

Soaring rates of HIV among indigenous people in the western province of Saskatchewan are 11 time higher than the Canadian national rate, reports the public broadcaster, CBC.

‘Shocking’ situation

“Shocking” and “a real Canadian crisis” are how the situation is described by Dr. Mona Loutfy, an infectious disease specialist who flies to remote reserves in the province to treat HIV patients.

This is not just a Saskatchewan crisis. Although they make up only 3.3 per cent of Canada’s population, Aboriginal people accounted for 5-8 per cent of the HIV infections and 6-12 per cent of new infections in 2002, according to government statistics. While the incidence is going down in the general population, it is going up among indigenous peoples.

Poverty, injection drug use are factors

“Social, economic, and behavioural factors such as poverty, substance use, including injection drug use, sexually transmitted diseases, and limited access to health services, have increased their vulnerability,” says a government website.

The situation could actually be much worse, says Loutfy, noting that little testing is done on Saskatchewan reserves. People may be reluctant to admit they are infected because those who do are reportedly shunned in some communities. There is also some misunderstanding about how the disease is spread.

‘It’s unbelievable’

Loutfy compares the incidences of HIV infection on Saskatchewan First Nations reserves to those of African countries like Nigeria. Referring to the popular practice of sending Canadian students to work on HIV/AIDS projects in Africa, Loutfy told CBC,”you don’t need to go to Africa to do HIV humanitarian work. You can go to Saskatchewan. It’s unbelievable.”