The Ontario AIDS Network (OAN) honours people living with HIV, remembers those we have lost, and recognizes the communities, peer workers, and organizations that continue to lead the response in Ontario.

HIV is not just a health issue; it is a mirror of whose lives are valued, whose rights are protected, and whose voices are heard. The epidemic in Ontario continues to disproportionately affect African, Caribbean and Black communities, Indigenous Peoples, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, people who use drugs, women, trans and non-binary people, migrants, sex workers, and people in prisons or institutional settings. These inequities are rooted in racism, colonialism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, xenophobia, poverty, and gender-based violence, not in individual “risk” alone.

On this World AIDS Day, OAN calls on governments, health systems, and organizations to:

1. Invest in community-led, culturally safe HIV and harm reduction services, especially for communities most affected and historically excluded.
2. Embed DEI in all HIV-related policies and programs—including anti-racism strategies, Indigenous reconciliation commitments, disability inclusion, gender-affirming care, and 2SLGBTQIA+ equity.
3. Remove systemic barriers to testing, PrEP, treatment, and U=U-informed care, including stigma in healthcare and gaps in coverage.
4. Reform laws and policies that criminalize people living with HIV, and replace punitive approaches with rights-based, evidence-informed responses.
5. Share power with people with lived experience in governance, funding decisions, program design, evaluation, and research.

We invite everyone in Ontario, leaders, service providers, unions, boards, educators, and neighbours to treat HIV as a priority: challenge stigma and discrimination, review your policies and practices, support local AIDS service organizations, and amplify the voices of people living with HIV.

Ending HIV is possible. Doing so fairly means ensuring that people living with and affected by HIV can live with safety, dignity, and joy, free from discrimination and structural violence.