Canada Can't Be Complacent About AIDS

"Many people believe that AIDS is 'over' in places like Canada and that new drugs exist which make AIDS a 'manageable' condition. These mistaken beliefs are costing lives.

"... Compared to the rest of the world, Canada does have a relatively low HIV prevalence rate. We also have affordable, accessible, and effective medical treatments for people living with HIV.

"... I think it is through the very personal aspects of AIDS that each of us can make a difference. Instead of thinking that people in our country and city who contract HIV are at fault because 'people should know better,' we should support education that teaches people how to negotiate safer sex and harm reduction.

"... Instead of pretending that 'AIDS is over' because our national rates are not 'as bad' as other places in the world, we should recognize that HIV infection rates in our country, province and city are in fact increasing. We need to continue to do and support the work to help those affected and prevent new infections.

"Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the current global pandemic, we can all take a moment, or a day, to learn more about the realities of HIV/AIDS by reading a book, a biography, or a poem at the public library or on the Internet. We can reach out and volunteer for organizations such as HIV Edmonton.

"Instead of thinking AIDS is not a problem in our lives if we are not directly affected, we can take a moment to think about wearing a red ribbon when we see volunteers passing them out at coffee shops and malls this AIDS Awareness Week.

"... As people continue to be infected and affected by HIV, education and activism remain our best hopes in battling AIDS. Sharing our stories enables people to form arguments; provide testimony; break silences; trace histories; expose inequities and injustices; and imagine new Ways of relating to, loving, and desiring each other. This AIDS Awareness Week, we need to commit to see HIV/AIDS in new ways, continue the work of existing activisms, and create future activisms."

The author, who has worked as an AIDS educator, teaches popular culture at the University of Alberta.

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