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Photo courtesy Northreach Society
By Erika Rolling
Sexual Health Services

Northreach Society getting $1.2 million provincial grant for syphilis prevention

Dec 14, 2023 | 12:15 PM

The Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray-based Northreach Society is getting the largest lumpsome of a newly introduced provincial grant program to prevent, test and treat syphilis.

A total of $6 million will be dispersed to eight organizations in Alberta through the Syphilis Outbreak Action Response grant program, also known as SOAR.

Alberta is currently experiencing a high rate of syphilis, and an outbreak was declared back in 2019 due to the rise of infections.

The Northreach Society’s STBBI and Education Program Manager, Erika Gilroy says their organization will be getting $1.2 million from SOAR to address the outbreak.

She says with the money, they will be able to take their services mobile across northern Alberta.

“One of the biggest barriers we’ve heard (from) community members is that being tested for syphilis or other STBBI’s in their communities can be a barriers, often times in small communities.”

“They may not feel comfortable getting tested or finding out education around syphilis or safe sex, we are trying to address that by having a nursing team that travels up to communities one to two times a week to do other testing events.”

Gilroy says this mobile unit with nurses will be launched in the new year in a phased rollout.

“They’ll start in January going to different rural locations in northern Alberta.”

The province says the AHS North Zone has been experiencing one of the highest rates of syphilis. Gilroy says this is true, especially in Grande Prairie.

“We are seeing an increase daily at our office where we currently do STBBI testing. We’ve definitely seen an increase over the last year, specifically the last six months, of syphilis… and it’s spreading amongst community members.”

Gilroy hopes that the grant program money going to Northreach puts them in a position to be able to provide their confidential services across northern Alberta.

“Directly to smaller communities. They will be able to do testing, treatment, and provide education on site along with safer sex supplies in the hopes of reducing the transmission of syphilis over the next few years.”

She notes they are excited about the expansion and taking their services mobile.

The Alberta government says in 2022, there were 3,328 recorded cases of infectious syphilis in the province, and a total of 273 cases of congenital syphilis between 2018 and 2022.

by Erika Rolling