This week, the Ontario Ministry of Health announced a series of consultations with municipal governments and the public health and emergency health services sectors to strengthen and modernize public health and emergency health services. These consultations are meant to increase the consistency and equity of service delivery across the province and improve clarity and alignment of roles and responsibilities between the province, Public Health Ontario and local public health. This work is also meant to identify innovative practices and improve public health delivery. These consultations may be an important opportunity for people living with HIV and people involved in Ontario’s HIV sector to share their

PLDI is excited to announce a new opportunity for graduates to be trained as facilitators and for these skills to be practiced in our Member agencies.  This pilot project presents a unique opportunity for both PLDI graduates and agencies to build their skills bank while embodying the principles of GIPA/MEPA. More details about  this opportunity can be found here.  We are seeking interested Member agencies to pilot this project with us – if you’d like your agency to be involved reach out to Tara Jewal at tjewal@oan.red before October 21st

The North Eastern Ontario Opening Doors HIV/AIDS Conference will be held on October 23rd and 24th at the Northbury Hotel and Conference Centre in Sudbury.  This event will feature Visioning Health II who will be facilitating a fantastic participatory session. Visioning Health II is a community-based health, culture and gender participatory research project for HIV-Positive Indigenous Women.  Click here for more information and to register. The 27th Annual Eastern Ontario Opening Doors Conference is happening October 23rd to 25th at the Glen House Resort in the beautiful Thousand Islands. It will welcome service providers, students, as well as people living with and affected by HIV to participate

The OAN just successfully concluded its 2019 Annual Meeting.  This was a very successful event which saw record numbers of people in attendance.  The Meeting included three days of important dialogue about our work and how our work will be guided by people living with HIV. The Members’ meeting brought together over 85 persons who were actively engaged in rich discussions about HIV testing, the upcoming federal election and our sector’s Reconciliation work. We also welcomed two new Member agencies to the OAN – welcome to LetsStopAIDS and Women’s Health in Women’s Hands. Our Saturday Annual Meeting brought our 2018-19 fiscal year

On September 19th, 2019 the OAN Board of Directors hosted a very well attended and lively meeting of OAN delegates living with HIV. Delegates were sent by OAN Member agencies to represent their organization at our Member’s and Annual Meeting. It was the best attended meeting in many years. These are the people that one delegate labelled the “superheroes of the HIV movement in Ontario”. This was just one characteristic that those present told us that they were bringing into the meeting.  In all, there were 37 people living with HIV in the room from 27 OAN Member and Affiliate

Ontario votes on October 21st  – make sure your voice is heard in this important election! Ontario’s HIV community has an important opportunity to let all candidates, parties and voters know that the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Canada requires strong federal leadership. We need federal commitments to support the fight against HIV/AIDS in our community and this can only be accomplished by committing to aggressive targets and investments in treatment, testing and a strong front-line response. We also need federal leadership to address the criminalization of non-disclosure, ensure a safe drug supply and a commit to harm reduction. So far, it

The HIV testing landscape is changing quickly. There are many new developments on the horizon in self, venue and home-based testing and one of the most recent is the approval of the INSTI rapid HIV test for expanded use in Canada. With an estimated 14% of people with HIV who do not know that they are living with the virus, the test’s updated Intended Use statement makes it possible for an increased range of healthcare professionals to use INSTI. This includes HIV counsellors and peer testers in more point-of-care (POC) and outreach settings. For more information, please click here. While we

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) has been proven to be highly effective in preventing HIV transmission. When taken regularly and as prescribed, PrEP can provide some peace of mind and takes some of the worry out of sex.  Review the OHTN’s website Ontarioprep.ca for more information. To find a clinic in your area that provides PrEP services, please look here.

Research has been building for years, and several large studies have now confirmed that effective treatment can suppress HIV to the point that it can’t be transmitted through sex. In recognition of this, CATIE recently launched its national Can’t Pass It On campaign. Go here to watch the campaign video or order campaign posters. CATIE and Toronto to Zero would also like to invite you to the Toronto launch of Can’t Pass It On on Thursday, September 26, 2019 from 7-9 pm. Hosted by Darien Taylor,  the launch will welcome special guest Bruce Richman, founder of the Prevention Access Campaign.

Patients living with HIV in Ontario have rights and the Patient Ombudsman’s team will listen and support the resolution of your complaints about negative health experiences. Although the Patient Ombudsman does not have oversight over AIDS Service Organizations, the office can receive complaints about Ontario’s public hospitals, long-term care homes, and home and community care provided by a Local Health Integration Network. If you are living with HIV and have a complaint about your care in these settings – including experiences of HIV related stigma, discrimination or disclosure – you can find out how the Ombudsman can help you here.