Sask. HIV rates are worst in Canada, recent stats show
'We lose somebody every week': COO of Saskatoon clinic
Toby Esterby says he is constantly seeing new HIV cases diagnosed.
"It's not that we're seeing a single case a week," Esterby, chief operations officer at the West Side Community Clinic in Saskatoon, said.
"We're seeing several new cases every week. Week after week."
Recently released statistics show Saskatchewan had the worst rate of HIV infections in Canada in 2023.
The release by the Public Health Agency of Canada says Saskatchewan's infection rate last year was 19.4 per 100,000 populations, more than three times the national rate of 6.1 per 100,000.
The West Side Community Clinic is on the front-lines of HIV care. It has 800 regular patients.
Esterby said there's no reason HIV should be spreading. It could be prevented if there was a plan and resources in place, he said.
"We're really struggling with folks that are trying to address HIV," he said. "They're trying to take care of themselves. They're trying to make it to their appointments, and they're trying to do all of these things."
He said many of the patients are dealing with food security, housing issues, family relations and healing from trauma. These social determinants take up so much of their time and energy that they can't address their health needs.
"We hear often about how we are one of the more economically stable and prosperous provinces in the Dominion of Canada," he said. "Yet here we are."
Esterby said HIV is a completely treatable chronic disease.
"Nobody should die from HIV," he said. "We lose somebody every week."
Long wait-lists
Sanctum Care group is a non-profit in Saskatoon that works primarily with pregnant women who are at risk of contracting HIV, or pregnant women who may have already contracted it and may not be on medication. It is Saskatchewan's first and only HIV hospice and transitional care home.
Katelyn Roberts, Sanctum's executive director, said Saskatchewan is not always the best at delivering the right care and support when someone is diagnosed with HIV.
Sanctum works to increase prenatal care and get women appropriate medications.
"Unfortunately, over 70 per cent of the women that we work with who are pregnant are also homeless, or 80 per cent of them are struggling with injection drug use," she said. "So we recognize that need kind of very early on."
Sanctum 1.5 is an inpatient home designed to supports the clients 24/7. The 10-bed group home in Saskatoon services the whole province.
"We have battled long wait-lists for a very long time," she said.
Sanctum also operates PORT, its prenatal outreach and resource team, in Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Regina. Roberts said it is an intensive case management approach where the team works with women at risk of having their infant apprehended at birth, providing wraparound services and support.
Dr. Cara Spence, an assistant professor in the department of medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, was the lead researcher in a two-year analysis of HIV numbers in Saskatchewan.
She said numbers are decreasing globally, but not here.
"We don't see these kinds of trends globally anymore," she said. "HIV is a chronic disease now."
She said HIV is often related to poverty or social determinants, young women are being affected at a much larger rate and the biggest risk factor is having unprotected sex.
HIV is easily managed and there are very good treatment plans available where people can live long, healthy lives, Spence said.
"When you're dealing with a deeper core issue like housing and food security, your health often comes secondary and it increases your vulnerabilities."
This story is from the This is Saskatchewan podcast — your connection to the stories Saskatchewan is talking about. Every week, Leisha Grebinski and Nichole Huck will cover local issues that matter. Hear the voices that are creating change, shaping policy and fuelling creativity in Saskatchewan.
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