Indigenous AIDS Awareness Week: One Vision, Many Paths – FNHA

Dec 07, 2022

A Message from Mathew Fleury, Manager of First Nations Research Knowledge Exchange and Dr. Celeste Loewe, Medical Health Officer

This is a time to share knowledge, culture and reduce stigma

Indigenous AIDS Awareness Week is a time to raise awareness, share knowledge, and reduce fear and stigma. We can empower each other by starting conversations, honouring Indigenous people living with HIV/AIDS, and by remembering friends, family, and community members who have passed away from HIV/AIDs. This is an important time to take care of ourselves mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Listening to the wisdom and teachings that Indigenous people living with HIV/AIDS have to offer us is essential. In the video Strong Medicine, Indigenous people living with HIV/AIDS share how culture and wellness are the foundational elements of HIV prevention and care. Western therapies are another important element. The speakers in the film encourage people to get tested for HIV and share their experiences and perspectives on starting, resuming and staying on HIV/AIDS treatment. For example, some people mention having fewer or no side effects over time on HIV/AIDS treatments that sometimes only require one daily pill.

Read More: https://www.fnha.ca/about/news-and-events/news/indigenous-aids-awareness-week-one-vision-many-paths