HIV cases are climbing in Canada, with new data showing an increase of more than 20% in just two years, according to CBC News.
The new data shows there were more than 2,500 new HIV infections in 2024, a 23% increase compared with two years earlier. At least 21 countries have reported a rise in cases, and Canada is among them.
At the International AIDS Conference, health experts warned that a loss in funding could undo years of progress, with one saying the fight is no longer limited by science but by inequality and political choices.
Dr. Montaner, a lead architect of the treatment-as-prevention strategy adopted by the UN to end the AIDS pandemic by 2030, described a resurgence of HIV, both new infections and AIDS, after years in which the disease had been persistently declining because the strategy was working.
That strategy calls for 95% of people with HIV to be diagnosed, on treatment and to have a suppressed viral load, but Canada is not meeting its targets, with what experts described as limited, if any, significant investment from the federal government.
Advocates say HIV is increasingly showing up in smaller communities that lack adequate health support services, where there is often no HIV organization and, in some cases, no clinic or health care provider available.
In May, Manitoba declared HIV a public health emergency, and Saskatchewan has seen a record number of cases.
Darryl Jordan, a harm reduction worker who lives with HIV, said testing is key, noting that once someone is tested they can be treated, and once treated they can live a normal life. Health experts are also calling on the government to provide more frequent reporting of HIV cases and to invest in community supports.