An update for our supporters

A big thank you to everyone who sent letters and help spread the word in support of our End the HIV Epidemic, Not HIV Funding campaign — a coordinated effort by CBRC and other 2S/LGBTQIA+-serving community organizations across Canada calling on the federal government to make meaningful commitments to tackle the HIV epidemic.

We’re incredibly grateful for your support and everything you’ve done to move our campaign to secure federal funding for community-based action on HIV forward. There is still much more to do, but we’re encouraged by the progress we’re seeing and want to share an update on what your efforts have helped us achieve.

Since launching in July, you have sent 1,464 letters to federal MPs, asking them to make commitments to prevent prospective funding cuts to government programs that sustain the community-led response to HIV. We are continuing to encourage people to send more letters and to urge others to do the same as MPs return to Parliament this month.

We also delivered a letter at the end of August to the Honourable Marjorie Michel, Canada’s Health Minister, co-signed by more than 100 2S/LGBTQIA+-serving community organizations, companies, and institutions across Canada. In the letter, we outlined how progress can be achieved when the government invests in community-based HIV funding, and how failing to maintain these investments will create greater challenges and reverse hard-won progress toward ending new infections.

A big thank you to the 100+ organizations who co-signed the letter and supported this cause.

We’ve begun holding meetings with key political and public-sector stakeholders, including MPs and Senators from the Canadian Parliamentary Pride Caucus, senior leaders at the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and officials within the Minister of Health’s Office. These meetings have been encouraging and have helped us reinforce the campaign’s message and make clear our ask for a commitment to funding beyond March 2028. We are encouraged by the receptiveness of our campaign and the recognition of the vital role that community organizations serve in addressing HIV in Canada — but still, there have been no commitments or any clarity on what to expect in the upcoming fall budget.

Since we launched the campaign, we have taken our message to the media to help get the urgency regarding rising infections and the critical need for sustained HIV funding out to the greater public.

On September 10, the federal government announced a $5 million investment to improve HIV prevention and support services through increased access to HIV self-test kits and the hiring of peer-based support workers. CBRC, as well as our Advance Alliance partners, will be among the 25 organizations invited to participate in this initiative. While we welcome this short-term initiative that will distribute HIV self-testing kits to the communities most impacted by HIV and facilitate increased linkage to care, we call on the federal government to commit to sustaining the funding necessary beyond March 2028 in order to effectively mobilize the tools and knowledge that Canada has to bring down new infections.

We continue to push the campaign through our channels, encouraging people to send letters in advance of the fall budget and use the messages and visuals in our social media toolkit to help amplify the message.

As Parliament begins its fall session, we are aiming to connect with more MPs and Senators to build greater awareness of the need to secure and sustain funding for community action on HIV. We’re also looking to expand engagement with local MPs and looking for people who would be willing to set up their own meetings with their MPs.

Again, we thank you for everything you’ve done to help move this campaign forward and are grateful for your continued support.

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