Local events planned for World AIDS Day, HIV/AIDS prevention campaign

Flin Flon will host events and a public installation to mark a pair of HIV/AIDS-related observances this weekend and next week.

December 1 is both World AIDS Day and the beginning of Indigenous AIDS Awareness Week. Locally, one of Flin Flon’s most notable local symbols will see a slight change in observance of the day - the Flinty statue will be lit up in red from Dec. 1-6 in recognition of the day and week.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba have Canada’s highest and second-highest rates of HIV transmission, according to data from the Public Health Agency of Canada, and have for several years. Numbers of new HIV and AIDS infections in both provinces have gone down recent years, but testing for HIV, AIDS and other sexually transmitted or bloodborne infections (STBBIs) went down dramatically in both provinces during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are expecting to have higher numbers of HIV prevalence in Manitoba, due to the lack of testing (during the pandemic),” said Play it Safer Network coordinator Tieryn Steele.

“Within our community, we honour and remember those we have lost to HIV/AIDS.”

The Play it Safer Network plans to host events that offer STBBI testing and that can connect people with health care, primary care staff and service providers who can refer and treat anyone who tests positive for HIV or AIDS.

The network will also be distributing new self-test kits for HIV, which can provide a relatively quick response for anyone who fears they may be at risk of infection.

“These kits are designed to help people test for HIV whenever and wherever they desire. With a simple prick of your finger, and a few drops of blood, anyone can now test themselves for HIV,” said Steele.

The Play it Safer Network will formally host an event at 1 p.m. Dec. 5 to unveil and distribute the new kits and show how they are used and provide information about prevention, treatment and how the virus is transmitted.

HIV, a virus that attacks the body’s immune system first found in humans in the 1980s, is spread by coming into contact with bodily fluids of someone who is already infected with the virus. If left untreated, HIV can progress into AIDS. This disease further attacks a person’s immune system and leaves them extremely vulnerable to relatively common health issues, such as pneumonia or opportunistic infections. If treated with antiretroviral medication, however, people with HIV can often live for decades with relatively few health effects.