The OAN Board and staff would like to thank those who attended our 2019/20 Annual Meeting and meeting of delegates living with HIV. Both were a tremendous success with approximately 83 attendees!  Membership collective efforts yielded this great outcome. This was only possible through member commitment of time and effort which is especially noticeable and appreciated during this current COVID-19 environment. Included in the Annual Report is a message from the Co-Chairs and Executive Director plus program highlights. Go here to download the full Annual Report. We’re so excited to welcome our new Board members Viviana Santibanez (Central), Eugen Nam (Central), Charles Parchem (West) and Lila Desjardine

This fall, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) will launch concurrent open and competitive solicitations for time-limited project funding under the HIV and Hepatitis C Community Action Fund (CAF) and the Harm Reduction Fund (HRF). To support the review of the funding applications, PHAC is looking for people living with HIV, people with lived or living experience of hepatitis C, individuals from key populations, individuals who work in community-based organizations, and researchers with a range of expertise in STBBI and harm reduction to ensure the committees are diverse, inclusive and can help assess the extent to which funding applications support

Hello Toronto! Welcome to PrEP Squad TO, a new online, social media, and print resource developed by the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention (Black CAP) with funding support from the Engage Intervention Fund. The resource aims to increase pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) awareness, uptake, and access in Toronto’s Black gay/ bisexual male or transpersons who have sex with men (gbMSM) community. It is an adaptation of the PrEP Squad Washington DC campaign. PrEP Squad TO will provide fun and sexy key messaging about PrEP, mobilize access through community partnerships with local ASOs, healthcare providers, among others. The resource features PrEP users, popular opinion leaders, and social

MOYO Health and Community Services is pleased to launch the Peel Integrated Drug Strategy survey again, the survey is now available online! Hence, The Peel Integrated Drug Strategy is inviting you to participate in a survey to help inform the development of a drug strategy in Peel. This is a community-based project conducted by the Peel Integrated Drug Strategy. Combined survey responses will help build a community profile of substance use in Peel, identify needs, gaps, and inform drug strategy recommendations.  What you need to know to participate: The survey is for people who use drugs and live/work/play in the Region of Peel. The

The AIDS Committee of Ottawa (ACO) is pleased to announce the launch of a Virtual Buddy Program in November 2020! The main objective of the Buddy Program is to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS by providing emotional support and company. Upon building capacity, the next steps will be focused on incorporating a peer model.   The Buddy Program functions with a bank of dedicated, qualified volunteers who are willing to support members on a flexible schedule by: Ensuring the program operates from a needs-based approach. Matching participants with trained volunteers for one-to-one calling. Who is a Buddy? A trained volunteer

The Gilbert Center is offering a free 6-week online program entitled Positive Self Management Program. This is for service users living with HIV from the Gilbert Centre.Program focus includes: Learning more about living with HIV Support networking Go here to view the Positive Self Management Program poster. To learn more about the program please reach out to Kellie Leeder, Women’s Health Coordinator at kelliel@gilbertcentre.ca or 705-722-6778, ext. 802

On November 2, 2020, Health Canada granted a medical device license to a one-minute, finger-prick HIV blood test. Known more commonly as the HIV self-test, this device is manufactured by bioLytical Laboratories based in BC.  The approval follows research and development associated with the Solutions Network: REACHing the Undiagnosed Testing for linkages to care for HIV and Hepatitis C project. The study was submitted by principal investigator Sean Rourke to regulators for approval earlier this year. The project is a collaboration of: CATIE CAFAR CAHR CBRC CSIH National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases  REACH 3.0 In our last newsletter, the OAN shared