Casey House Releases Startling Stats Marking World AIDS Day

Today is World AIDS Day and Casey House released a white paper titled Let’s face the future together on the current realities of HIV/AIDS in Toronto and Ontario.  Casey House was founded in 1988 and was the first freestanding HIV/AIDS facility in Canada. They were the leader when it came to compassionate palliative care. Casey House helps those coping with the disease get better and back on their feet and they also allow people to die with dignity. To many they are a beacon of light and helping hand.

Images courtesy of caseyhouse.com

Although many may believe that the pandemic of the 1980’s and 1990’s has passed that sadly is not the case. The Casey House report shed a startling light on the reality of HIV/AIDS in Toronto. Given what people know about disease and how to prevent the spread of it, one would think that the rate of those newly diagnosed would be dropping but that assumption would be incorrect. In fact “the rate of HIV infections in Ontario continues at nearly the same levels as during the mid-1990s, with approximately 1,000 Ontarians newly diagnosed each year.” What is even more shocking is that over a quarter of those diagnosed are under the age of thirty. This means that a generation who grew up knowing about the risk of HIV is somehow uninformed.

Another staggering statistic is that an estimated 1 in 120 adults in Toronto now live with HIV.  In line with the ever increasing number of those infected with the disease is that 75% of respondents to the Casey House survey admitted that they knew “little about the realities of HIV/AIDS treatment.” In general knowledge is power, and that is never truer than when it comes to preventing the spread of diseases.

Part of the issue is that people wrongly believe that HIV/AIDS can be successfully managed. Yes, there are drugs that help prolong and preserve one’s quality of life, however, that does not touch upon the realities of this disease. “Over the course of their illness, individuals living with HIV are faced with high and recurring rates of hospitalization for acute episodes of illness, and require frequent access to specialists for consultation, diagnosis and treatment.” This means that because of their compromised immune systems those suffering from the illness usually must cope with other major ailments.

There was not all bad news within this report, as attitudes toward those stricken with HIV/AIDS are changing. Sadly, there has been a stigma attached to this disease and those affected have often been mistreated and marginalized. The report found that  “9 out of 10 Ontarians agree that society has “a moral obligation” to provide compassionate treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS, no matter how they contracted the disease.” This is a major step in society understanding those affected, especially given the changing face of HIV/AIDS. The disease affects young and old, men and women, of any race, rich or poor.

It is sad to see that despite best efforts to inform and hopefully curb the spread of the disease that HIV/AIDS continues to be an urban epidemic. However, there is hope to be found in places like Casey House and the Canadian AIDS Society who work to educate and offer help and advocate for those struggling with this disease.

The Canadian AIDS Society theme for World AIDS Day 2011 is Do Something. Get out there and spread awareness, help educate, get involved and donate time and/or money to your local AIDS organization and start with celebrating World AIDS Day by participating in an event.
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