Sask. HIV rates are worst in Canada, recents stats show

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."

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.