Montreal, July 26, 2022 – The Coalition des organismes communautaires québécois de lutte contre le sida (COCQ-SIDA) held yesterday its conference QC sans sida – Cap sur 2030. On the sidelines of the 24th International AIDS Conference, community and political actors gathered at the PHI Centre to discuss actions to be taken to eradicate HIV/AIDS in Quebec by 2030.
“Currently, we already have the social and medical capacity to do so. However, we don’t have a strategy in Quebec or in Canada to do it. In fact, according to the latest data from the Public Health Agency of Canada, the country is already behind the established targets.”
Several exceptional speakers, including pioneers of the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, came together to present the expertise of the Quebec community. Participants were able to learn more about access to testing and support for treatment, as well as harm and risk reduction efforts and actions on the social determinants of health.
Participants heard from Dr. Jean Robert of the Dispensary, Mr. Patrick Labbé of MIELS Quebec, Dr. Mehdi Karkouri of Coalition PLUS (ALCS Morocco), Dr. Marina Klein of McGill University, Mr. Claude Lalande of Maison Plein Coeur, Ms. Emilie Renahy of ACCM, Mr. Martin Pagé of Dopamine and Ms. Véronica Pizzi of the CASM. Ms. Sandra Wesley, Executive Director of Stella, Maimie’s friend, Ms. Michèle Blanchard, Executive Director of la Maison d’Hérelle, and Mr. Ken Monteith, Executive Director of COCQ-SIDA, also took part in the conference, which was moderated by the journalist, host and writer specialized in health, Yanick Villedieu.
Quebec community organizations mobilize
This event was also an opportunity to present the objectives of the HIV/AIDS community and the concrete actions to be taken to achieve them. Indeed, as part of the Quebec Community Response to HIV/AIDS 2021-2025, five major objectives were identified following extensive consultations and research.
- Improve access to testing for HIV and all sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI);
- Support adherence to treatment for HIV and all STIs;
- Continue risk and harm reduction efforts by deploying services tailored to the needs of individuals and key populations;
- Address the social determinants of health by creating supportive environments;
- Develop intersectoral partnerships.
COCQ-SIDA brings together 34 HIV/AIDS organizations in Quebec and each of them focuses on these objectives. However, to achieve them, political will and concerted strategies will have to be deployed with these groups. Indeed, to ensure the capacity to act, access to health care must be decompartmentalized and adequate resources must be deployed.
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“As we welcome HIV-AIDS experts from around the world to Montreal, it would be appropriate to show leadership in achieving global targets in Canada, with concrete commitments. We, COCQ-SIDA, its member organizations and the Quebec AIDS Foundation, call on the Government of Canada to (1) increase the dedicated budget to $100 million annually, as recommended by the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Health in 2019, as well as (2) ensure the implementation of a concerted national HIV/AIDS strategy. For its part, we are asking the Government of Quebec to create a working committee to develop a coordinated strategy by World AIDS Day, December 1, 2022. As health is a provincial jurisdiction, this government involvement is necessary if we are to collectively reach our goal of eradicating AIDS by 2030.”
Guy Gagnon, President of the Board of Directors of the Coalition des organismes communautaires québécois de lutte contre le sida (COCQ-SIDA)
About COCQ-SIDA
COCQ-SIDA is a coalition of Quebec community-based organizations fighting HIV/AIDS. It supports and consolidates community action in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Quebec. It unites people, approaches, actions and resources involved in responding to issues affecting people living with HIV and all populations strongly affected by the epidemic. COCQ-SIDA is one of the four founding members of Coalition PLUS.
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