Watch the video above: Despite the number of new reported cases of HIV in Saskatchewan falling in 2012, the provincial rate remains twice the national average.
SASKATOON – While statistics for 2012 show a decline in the number of new reported cases of HIV in Saskatchewan, the province is still lagging behind the rest of the country and officials say more education is needed keep bringing the numbers down.
Last year, there were 177 new cases of HIV, down five per cent from the previous year. That number is twice the national average.
“There’s a lot of stigma attached to HIV, so we want people to have information so they can protect themselves, but secondly, they can understand HIV,” said AIDS Saskatoon Executive Coordinator Heather Byrne.
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In Saskatchewan, the top ways of contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) includes injection drug use, heterosexual intercourse and intercourse between men.
HIV/AIDS Awareness Week kicked off on Monday. Several events have been scheduled throughout the province to promote awareness.
“A lot of people don’t want to talk about it. People feel they can’t be open about it – and you can’t protect yourself from something if people aren’t openly discussing it,” Byrne told Global News.
Organizers have arranged DVD screenings, information sessions and condom blitzes at local bars in the province’s most populous city, Saskatoon. They hope it will be enough to generate discussion amongst the masses.
“We have the perception that Saskatoon – or Saskatchewan – is very far away from bigger centres in the world and maybe, that the risk is minimal. This is really not the case,” said Dr. Johnmark Opondo, HIV provincial leadership team medical health officer.
According to Opondo, one of the main objectives of the province’s overall HIV strategy was to address mother-to-child transmission. He says over the last two years, there has not been a single reported case.
“It’s not that HIV positive and pregnant moms haven’t delivered. In fact, we’ve seen more HIV positive and pregnant moms have babies,” said Opondo.
Timely testing and support from health workers has been largely credited with helping to minimize the number of reported cases.
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