The Public Health Agency of Canada is concerned with the numbers of HIV infections in Canadian Aboriginal communities.
Although native people represent only about 3% of the Canadian population, they represent almost 20% of people living with HIV infection in Canada. The number of cases of HIV has increased from approximately 18% in 1998 to 25% in 2003.
Almost 60% of HIV infections in the aboriginal population are attributable to injection drug use, with unprotected sex as a major contributor. Thirty percent (30%) of HIV infections in the aboriginal population are seen in youth, most of these attributable to injection drug use.
