Canada Must Help Stop AIDS Spread -- Expert

A leading AIDS expert, speaking at the recent Saskatoon meeting of the Canadian Association for HIV Researchers, said Canada must do more to curb the global spread of HIV. "Canada should be ashamed, especially when compared to the United States, which is giving between $4 billion and $5 billion in 2010," said Dr. Allan Ronald, who received a lifetime achievement award at the conference. "Comparably, [Canada] should be giving 10 percent of what the U.S. gives." Ronald said the Canadian International Development Agency spends $100 million to $142 million annually (US $92.6 million to $131.5 million) on international HIV/AIDS efforts; he called on the agency to boost that figure to $500 million (US $464 million) by 2014. "There is still no unified strategy for HIV prevention," Ronald said. "We can't just take two or three pieces -- and push circumcision or push condom use -- we need them all, and they need to be well understood." The conference attracted about 500 people.

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