HIV a stigma in aboriginal communities

Rates of infection among Canada's native people grossly disproportionate to their total numbers

In November, the Public Health Agency of Canada released its latest stats on the spread of HIV and AIDS in this country.

The report reveals aboriginal people (Inuit, Métis and First Nations) accounted for more than a quarter of all positive HIV tests reported in 2006, even though they only make up about 6 per cent of the total population in the 12 provinces and territories included in the stats. (Ontario and Quebec are excluded because they do not collect ethno-specific HIV data.)

And, for the third year in a row, women accounted for more than half of the positive test results among aboriginal people.

LINK: TorStar
LINK: Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network
LINK: Epi Notes