In Ontario, 7 in 100,000 are living with HIV (as of Dec. 5, 2019), i.e., over 26,000 people. Of 1,000 new transmissions annually, 1/5 are not diagnosed, and 1/3 go untreated. Roughly half of those diagnosed HIV+ are aged 50 years and older - my peers.
After more than 40 years, there's still no vaccine, no cure, for this deadly virus, HIV.
The Friends for Life Bike Rally originated with just two dozen participants in 1999 as a 6-day, 600 km bike ride from Toronto to Montréal to raise desperately needed funds to support the services provided by the Toronto People With AIDS Foundation (PWA) to people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs).
Now in its 25th year, the rally has grown into the sustaining fundraiser benefiting PWA. There are still thousands of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) who rely on PWA, They have been disproportionately affected by the social isolation, loss of income and food insecurity brought on by the pandemic.The Federal Government is drastically cutting funding for HIV services across the country, on top of Provincial cuts 3 years ago.