A small group of doctors, patients and indigenous groups gathered today at the Saskatoon Tribal Council Health Centre to highlight the number of people living with HIV and AIDS in Saskatchewan.
The group is calling the illness an epidemic, and is asking the provincial government to call a medical state of emergency.
They say that, from 2004 to 2014, more than 1,500 people tested positive for the disease in Saskatchewan, and that 200 of those people have since died.
"It calls for immediate action, and that’s really what we're asking for here,” Dr. Stephen Sanche said Monday at the meeting.
“We're asking for coordination between the provincial government, federal government and indigenous leadership to work together to attack this problem in Saskatchewan."
The group says while other provinces' rates have fallen, Saskatchewan's rate of HIV and AIDS is still on the rise.
