Your Body is a Great Machine

published on September 3, 2013

A goal has been set by the US and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) for an AIDS Free Generation by 2015, much needs to be done in Canada, however B.C. is getting close to this goal.

The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) is launching its Treatment as Prevention social media campaign within the province to help stop the spread of HIV. In fact, we are the only province in Canada demonstrating a consistent decline in new cases of HIV, and morbidity and mortality.

We applaud US President Obama for issuing a New Executive Order to accelerate their efforts to increase HIV testing, and engagement into care and treatment, to meet the AIDS Free Generation goal by 2015. BC-CfE has recently lauded the UNAIDS for its new framework to accelerate action in reaching 15 million people with antiretroviral treatment by 2015.

The end of AIDS is within our grasp, expanding Treatment as Prevention, as recommended by the 2013 World Health Organization guidelines, will bring this epidemic to its knees," said Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the BC-CfE. "Together, we can stop AIDS, and move towards realizing the vision of an AIDS-free generation. We should rally behind our partners including UNAIDS and the US to make the best of this extraordinary opportunity."

Dr. Julio Montaner pioneered the Treatment as Prevention strategy, and the British Columbia Ministry of Health has committed to the model for the world to follow in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In B.C., the provincial therapeutic guidelines recommend highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) be offered to most HIV-positive individuals regardless of their CD4 cell count. As a result, the number of individuals receiving treatment increased from 837 to more than 7,000 between 1996 and 2012. HIV-related morbidity and mortality have declined by approximately 90 per cent since the early 1990s, and, the number of new HIV diagnoses fell from approximately 900 per year prior to 1996 to 238 in 2012. Truly remarkable.

BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

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Your Body is a Great Machine

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