HIV and Black communities in Canada

By 2019 there were at least two vastly different HIV epidemics in Canada. For example, even though Black people account for roughly 4% of the country’s population, 2019 data shows that Black women and men accounted for 42% and 18% of reported cases among all women and men respectively. In comparison, white women and men make up 14% and 38%, respectively, of new diagnoses (Haddad et al. 2021). ) Overall, Black people account for one of every four new diagnoses year after year. The trend is similar in Ontario (OHESI, 2021).

It is clear to us that the epidemic among Black communities requires a transformative and vastly different approach than the business-as-usual that has benefitted white Canadians.

Black people and annual HIV diagnoses in 2019 and 2020

Canada, 2019-2020

Black people account for 3.5% of Canada’s total population. However, in terms of HIV cases with known race or ethnicity, the gross over-representation of Black people is as follows:

• Black women made up 42% of the 280 new cases among women in 2019, and 19.6% of the 158 new cases in 2020
• Black men accounted 17.7% of the 598 new cases among men, and 15.7% of the 443 new cases in 2020

Ontario, 2019-2020

Black people make up 4.5% of Ontario’s total population. However, among HIV cases with known race or ethnicity, Black people were over-represented as follows:

• Black women comprised 59% of the 86 new first-time diagnoses among women in 2019, and 44.4% of the 54 new first-time diagnoses among women in 2020
• Black men comprised 18% of the 365 new first-time diagnoses among men in 2019, and 19.6% of the 271 new first-time diagnoses among men in 2020

Understanding the pattern in 2019 and 2020

The trend in new diagnoses suggests a noticeable decline in Black people’s share of diagnoses in 2020 compared to 2019 and the previous 10 years, especially among women. However, events in 2022-2022 point to a different reality.

Among women in both Canada and Ontario, Black women’s share of diagnoses fallen rather sharply from 2019 to 2020. Black women and white women had an almost equal share of diagnoses in 2020 even though white women vastly outnumber Black women in the total Canadian and Ontario population. It is remarkable that the huge disparity between white and Black women persists even after a sharp drop in Black women’s share of HIV diagnoses.

From: Maureen Owino, Eric Peters, Josephine Etowa, LaRon Nelson, OmiSoore Dryden, Wangari Tharao, Amanuel Tesfamichael and Winston Husbands (2022). We Can’t Breathe:A Manifesto for Transformative Action to address HIV among Black Canadian Communities. Interim Committee on HIV in Black Canadian Communities.