Alberta targets greatest HIV risks

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Alberta Health and Wellness Minister Halvar Jonson announced a new, three-year government strategy this summer to prevent HIV infection and help those who already live with HIV.

Jonson's press release says the strategy addresses "new population groups" in which HIV infection is occurring, identified as "women, youth, Aboriginals and non-prescription needle users."

Funding of the strategy will come from Alberta Health and Wellness, Health Canada, the regional health authorities and various service agencies. The 1999-2000 budget allocates $1.76 million through the Alberta Community Council on HIV, a Red Deer organization, says David Bray, assistant communications director at Alberta Health and Wellness. About $1.5 million will go to community service agencies and at least $190,000 will be spent on HIV programs targeted at young adults, needle users, Aboriginals, pregnant women and ex-offenders. The federal government's contribution will be $1.3 million over two years, from 1999, while the provincial contribution represents a $265,000 increase over 1998, Bray said.

Bray admitted the plan was not so much new as it was about helping the target groups more. He said the main purpose of publicizing the strategy was to get the word out that "HIV is 100 per cent preventable."

Health and Wellness will direct the bulk of the money to clinics run by the regional health authorities, Bray went on. For example, the 1999/2000 budget allocates $411,500 to AIDS Calgary Awareness Association; $108,700 to Safe Works, run by the Calgary health authority; $362,000 to the AIDS Network of Edmonton Society; $147,000 to Street Works and $121,000 to Feather of Hope, also Edmonton-based.

The strategy identifies five "priorities."

In recognition of the "disproportionate number" of Aboriginal people who are HIV infected, Jonson says they will improve access by Aboriginal communities to prevention programs, care and support services. Other initiatives include stepping up education to the under-30 age group, improving data collection to assist in program planning, creating a multi-sectoral group to fight the spread of HIV among injection drug users, and maintaining services in two existing clinics in Calgary and Edmonton.

Sweetgrass talked to some social service workers whose clients are meant to benefit from the strategy. Most had not heard about it and most indicated that "100 per cent preventable" was a bit too optimistic when speaking of HIV infection.

Ken Ward is a Cree man known as the first Aboriginal person to "go public" with his HIV status, and for many years he's been an advocate for those living with HIV. He doesn't work "intensively" with any agencies, he says, concentrating instead on Aboriginal communities and the prison system in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

"I'd like to know what the money's earmarked for - is it education or support? My concern, as one of the oldest and long-time serving Cree Indians who was diagnosed now with AIDS, but still working in the field consistently, I have some concerns when . . . this money's being allotted, be it the province or by the feds. But I'll stay specifically in Alberta, I'll question how much money's being allotted to the Aboriginal community. . . . The Aboriginal community gets the short end of the stick as far as I'm concerned.

"The province would like to cover it up: We just had our first experience with hosting our Aboriginal AIDS conference here and we (the organizations involved) applied for pocket change worth $10,000 and we were denied.

"It was the feds, fortunately, that did come through, but there seems to be (a jurisdictional issue) when it comes to funding," Ward said. He added the province expects the federal government to "take care of it."

"In regards to the strategy," the biggest thing I put the emphasis on - and this is a problem area. . . in most tribes and on the reserves, I think accountability is really an issue. And even in the city, what happens is that when moneys are eing allotted, there needs to be an assessment . . . Because when they start pumping in more money, that money's being wasted. We need to have something that's a lot more effective and a lot more accountable, and we need to have the experienced and the trained people to be able to pursue that.

"When it comes to strategies," Ward concluded, ". . . communities don't get very much if they have to try to piggyback with other agencies to bring in resource people."

Leanne Kohn, the director of Kairos House, an eight-bed Edmonton facility that provides palliative care, in-home family support and service co-ordination, said she was not aware of the strategy, but she is aware that the needs of the Aboriginal population are great. Kohn stated they try to provide whatever spiritual or cultural supports their Aboriginal clients request.

Greg Cardinal, who identified himself as a "student consultant" with the Feather of Hope Aboriginal AIDS Prevention Society, spoke to Sweetgrass in the absence of the agency's senior staff, who were on vacation. Cardinal formerly worked full time at Feather of Hope before attending university. He said he was not informed about budgetary matters, but pointed out the small amount of provincial money Feather of Hope would receive this fiscal year to serve all of Alberta, compared to what another agency was getting to serve just the city of Edmonton. Nevertheless, Cardinal said any addition to their coffers would be put to good use.

"It will increase our ability to address social issues, especially in the area of child prostitution," he said, adding there was a definite link between that problem and intravenous drug use.

Clayton Leonard, a weekend program assistant who works at Kairos House, has nearly completed an honors degree program in Native Studies. As part of that program, he undertook a four-month research project "on the needs of Aboriginal people living with HIV and AIDS in an urban setting," he said.

"The only thing that came across in y study (significant, targeted to Natives, HIV and AIDS-specific programming)," Leonard said, "was a program run in the provincial prisons for Aboriginal inmates. In 15 months of working in the field I haven't come across anything produced by the (provincial) government specifically directed at Aboriginal people where HIV is concerned.

Debora Foster, program director at HIV Edmonton Society, says of the strategy, "They've moved into other communities because they've recognized the old strategies for (combating HIV in) middle class gay men who are not using drugs or alcohol is not working."