Sask. experts team together to stop the spread of HIV in First Nation communities

Medical professionals, researchers, and community leaders have teamed up for a ‘Know Your Status’ conference to help stop the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Saskatchewan has the highest rates of HIV in the country, according to Dr. Ibrahim Khan, a medical health officer with Indigenous Services Canada (ISC). Statistics from ISC show the most common spread of the virus is in First Nation communities.

“The root causes are well known, inter-generational trauma, mental health situations, and also addictions-crisis that are happening for many decades, are driving these epidemics,” Khan said.

There are testing sites in 51 First Nation communities, according to statistics from December 2022.

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Sharing needles accounts for 42 per cent of HIV transmissions, while 14 per cent is from sexual transmission.

Statistics show HIV rates increased by 67 per cent from 2020 to 2021. Khan said the pandemic put a hold on diagnoses, and now communities will gear up to expand their outreach and testing campaigns.

“We are very optimistic that our numbers are going to go up in terms of testing, and also in terms of the outreach in finding these cases,” Khan said.

Khan said education, as well as resources for detecting and treating the virus will help to stop its spread.

The team discussed the limitations of the healthcare system and ways to incorporate traditional Indigenous medicine practices

“They need for us to be more collaborative. They need for us to work with the communities to identify their priorities,” Dr. Nnamdi Ndubuka, medical health officer with Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority, said.

“I would say from my expert opinion, the only way to deal with the epidemic is to work with Indigenous communities in the way that they approach healing and health,” Dr. Cara Spence, research director for Wellness Wheel Medical Clinic, said.