Saskatoon forum focuses on stories on combatting HIV and Hep C


The Know Your Status HIV forum is taking place in Saskatoon.

Indigenous women in the province have some of the highest rates of HIV and Hepatitis C in the country.

One community is sharing its story on how its combating the viruses.

Dr. Ibraham Khan says the Big River First Nation, a Cree First Nation, identified the problem and is now taking action to address it. Know Your Status is a community and nurse led program that includes peer counselling and culturally specific programming.

Jack Rayne, chief of Big River First Nation, acknowledges there is still a ways to go.

But transparency both with his own community and other communities is helping rates decline, he says.

According to Indigenous Services Canada, there has been a decrease in rates in HIV and Hep C rates in First Nation communities in Saskatchewan over the past two years.

But the rates remain two times higher than the provincial average.

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