HIV diagnoses up in Sask. despite more spending on tests, prevention

Saskatchewan health regions are diagnosing more new cases of human immunodeficiency virus, despite a massive increase in government spending on testing and prevention programs, government documents show.

Increased investment in finding a solution for the province’s HIV “epidemic” — Saskatchewan’s infection rate is twice the national average — is a good thing, but the tide of new infections suggests more needs to be done, according to AIDS Saskatoon’s executive director.

A logical first step would be to conduct a thorough economic analysis of how much each HIV case costs taxpayers, which the documents filed last week show has not yet been done, Jason Mercredi said Wednesday in an interview.

“There’s a real emphasis to save that money and the best way to save that money in the future is to go into the prevention work, the outreach work, caseworkers — they’re pretty few and far between,” Mercredi said.

The number of Saskatchewan residents diagnosed with HIV peaked at 199 in 2009, but has increased by 33 per cent over the last decade, to 170 new cases per year from 127 in 2007.

That increase comes in spite of a 443-per-cent increase in spending on HIV testing — which rose to $854,710 last year from $157,390 a decade ago — and a 45-per-cent spike in prevention funding, which climbed to $562,000 in 2016 compared to $387,000 in 2007.

Citing a study published two years ago that concluded the average cost to taxpayers of a single HIV case is $286,965, Mercredi said increasing funds for prevention programs — which can be as simple as needle exchanges — would have significant benefits.

While the situation is complicated by a drop in federal funding — AIDS Saskatoon reported a 22-per-cent decrease in money flowing from Ottawa last year — the Ontario study found that every dollar invested in a community organization saves about $5 in health-care costs, he said.

Ministry of Health spokeswoman Shirley Xie said in an email that the government recognizes HIV as a serious issue and the product of complex social issues. “Although significant progress has been made, work remains to make testing, services and patient-centred care more accessible, especially in rural and remote areas,” she wrote.

Simply funding HIV testing and prevention is not enough to eradicate the virus, which according to government estimates has infected between 2,000 and 2,600 people in the province, according to the head of a Saskatoon hospice for people carrying HIV.

The virus is a symptom of poverty, homelessness, mental health and addiction, and while it is simple to treat, that treatment requires stability, said Katelyn Roberts, who runs the 10-bed Sanctum Care Group Inc.

“You have to be 96 per cent compliant (with HIV medication) to be successful in HIV treatment, and how do you do that when you’re struggling with all those things?” Roberts said.

Mercredi said it’s also important to discuss possible solutions between the federal and provincial governments, community-based organizations and, crucially, people who live with HIV.

“It is an epidemic and a lot of times people want to focus on one level of government … but really, we need a plan where all of us are in the room and talking and figuring out what needs to happen.”