By Liam Verster

World AIDS Day

Northreach Society is raising HIV/AIDS awareness, offering free STI tests

Nov 27, 2019 | 1:07 PM

The Northreach Society is doing their part to raise awareness for World AIDS Day, and Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week.

World AIDS Day is an international commemorative day to honour those who have lost their lives to HIV and AIDS. To mark the day, which falls on Sunday, December 1, the Northreach Society will host an educational event at Prairie Mall.

Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week runs from December 1st to the 5th. Amanda Gear, the Community Health and Sexually Transmitted Blood-Borne Infection (STBBI) Program Manager with Northreach, says the week corresponds with this year’s World AIDS Day theme of ‘Communities Make the Difference.’

“Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week kind of mirrors that, with ‘Indigenous Communities Make the Difference.’ Quite often, Indigenous people are labeled ‘at risk,’ but there’s nothing inherently risky about being Indigenous. It itself is not a risk factor. So we’re just trying to raise awareness about the discrimination and the stigma that exists.”

She adds that they want to honour Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week because they are overrepresented in the statistics. Ten per cent of Canadians infected with HIV/AIDS are Indigenous people, and they account for 11% of new infections, but they make up 4.9% of Canada’s population.

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Statistics from Alberta Health show that in 2018 there were 24 cases of HIV in the North Zone, which includes Grande Prairie. That number is a 17.2% decrease from 2017.

The report also shows there were 208 cases of syphilis in the North Zone in 2018, which is an increase of 324.5% compared to 2017.

Gear says those stats reflect the purpose of the week, which is to provide treatment and support while raising awareness and dispelling myths, stigmas, and assumptions around HIV/AIDS.

“A lot of people tend to, when they think about HIV/AIDS, they tend to think about it being in certain demographics. They tend to envision somebody, but it’s in every demographic, HIV doesn’t discriminate. That’s why testing is the only way to know. Sometimes people think that they’re fine because they feel healthy, but often HIV doesn’t have any symptoms.”

Symptoms for HIV/AIDS include flu-like symptoms, including feeling sick, feeling nauseous, feeling worn out. These symptoms are common to a lot of viruses and diseases, and oftentimes may not even appear in a person who carries the virus,

Over 65,000 Canadians carry the HIV/AIDS virus, and every three hours, someone in Canada becomes newly infected. Of those people, one in seven doesn’t know they carry the virus. Gear says it’s important for people to find out their status because if they are infected, they can begin treatment.

“Treatment now for HIV is phenomenal. So taking HIV treatment, exactly as it’s prescribed, and maintaining it exactly as prescribed, you can suppress your viral load so that it’s undetectable. And undetectable means it’s also untransmittable .”

She says ‘U=U’, or ‘undetectable equals untransmittable,’ meaning people with properly treated HIV/AIDS and an undetectable load cannot spread the virus to a partner.

Free tests will be available at the Grande Prairie Friendship Centre on December 2 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and at the Northreach Society on December 3, 4 and 5 from Noon to 8 p.m. Gear says the tests are absolutely free, but does ask that people call ahead of time and book an appointment, though walk-ins are welcome.

Gear adds that they will also be offering tests for hepatitis C, syphilis, and other sexually transmitted infections during the week. She says it’s important for people to get up-to-date tests, because right now there is a syphilis outbreak in Alberta, and everyone should know their status and make sure they aren’t passing on any viruses.