Canada | Health

Report confirms high rate of HIV infections among First Nations

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

A view of the Ahtahkakoop First Nation in Saskatchewan. Photo from AFN

Native people on reserves in Saskatchewan suffer from some of the highest HIV infection rates in the world, CBC News reports.

Citing data from Health Canada, CBC said there were 64 new infections per 100,000 people on reserves, compared with 5.9 per 100,000 throughout Canada. The rate on the Ahtahkakoop First Nation, for example, is comparable to that of some African nations where the disease remains rampant.

"You don't need to go to Africa to do HIV humanitarian work. You can go to Saskatchewan," Mona Loutfy, an infectious disease specialist at the Women's College Hospital in Ontario, told CBC. "It's unbelievable."

Ahtahkakoop Chief Larry Ahenakew was first told about the high HIV rate on his reserve in 2011. He said the community has taken a proactive approach in order to reduce further infections.

"We don't hide. We let everybody know our numbers," Ahenakew told CBC. "We have to take it seriously just to stop the transfer of infection disease of HIV."

In the U.S., outbreaks have been seen on the Navajo Nation and on the Pine Ridge Reservation in recent years.

Get the Story:
HIV rates on Sask. reserves higher than some African nations (CBC 6/3)
HIV advocate says Saskatchewan is decades behind (CBC 6/3)
HIV cases in Prince Albert 3.5 times the national rate (CBC 6/3)