The current COVID-19 pandemic illustrates starkly, yet again, the critical importance of both investing in public health and of respecting, protecting and fulfilling human rights in order to respond effectively to an ongoing public health challenge that is fuelled by, and exacerbating, social and economic inequalities. In this regard, while there are of course important differences between COVID and the HIV\/AIDS pandemic, there are important similarities \u2013 and hence important lessons to be learned from the history of HIV and the HIV response.<\/p>\n
Even as Canada and the world struggle with this latest public health crisis, it is essential that we not lose sight of the fact that ending the HIV pandemic \u2013 the pledge made by all countries as one of the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 \u2013 is unfinished business. It would be a tragic mistake to let the new challenge of COVID-19 derail the work that is needed to sustain the response to HIV and the human rights abuses that still accompany it.<\/p>\n
In particular, in this submission we highlight again, as we have previously to Members of Parliament, the outstanding issue of adequately funding the federal response to the ongoing HIV pandemic.<\/p>\n
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