The Canadian AIDS Society and its partners have been advocating for the development of Canadian plans on new prevention technologies for years. In 2002, the Canadian Government announced that it was going to develop a Canadian HIV Vaccines Plan. In 2005, stakeholders from multiple sectors (government, community, researchers and industry) agreed to collaborate on the development of a Canadian Microbicides Action Plan.

In both cases, the Plans are meant to articulate how Canada would contribute to domestic and global efforts to support the development, delivery and access to new prevention technologies. Government, community, researchers and industry will all be actively involved in the development of the Plans and their respective contributions will be outlined.

Canadian HIV Vaccines Plan
Following 2 roundtable consultations in 2003, Health Canada (now the Public Health Agency of Canada) was mandated to form a Steering Committee to help guide the development of the HIV Vaccines Plan. CAS has been a member of this Steering Committee as a community representative, and has been chairing the committee since July 2005.

So far, a draft Plan was developed based on the roundtable consultations and a literature review. It has served as the basis for broader stakeholder consultations with key representatives from various government departments, community members, researchers and industry representatives in Canada, as well as some international partners.

This consultation is now complete, and a final version of the Canadian HIV Vaccines Plan will be reviewed by the original roundtable members, and launched before the end of 2005. The roundtable and Steering Committee members will actively seek commitments from various sectors to ensure the implementation of the Plan.

Canadian Microbicides Action Plan
Following the 2nd Canadian Microbicides Symposium in early 2005, CAS was mandated to create a Steering Committee with representatives from multiple sectors to coordinate the development of a Canadian Microbicides Action Plan.

With support from various funders from the federal government, and strong commitment from stakeholders from a range of sectors, the Steering Committee is overseeing an environmental scan, which will assist us in developing a draft Action Plan by the end of 2005.

We will then embark on a wider consultation to finalize the Canadian Microbicides Action Plan, which we hope to launch in March 2006.

Opportunities for Canada to Contribute to Global Efforts
Canada is the first country in the world to develop such plans, which include multiple sectors, and incorporate research, development, delivery and access.

At the Microbicides 2006 international conference in Cape Town, South Africa, in April 2006, and at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, in August 2006, Canada has an opportunity to highlight these important contributions. Already, there have been requests from other countries to learn more about these processes.

For more information on the Plans, or to participate in consultations, please contact:

Marc-André LeBlanc
Chair, Canadian HIV Vaccines Plan Steering Committee
Coordinator, Canadian Microbicides Action Plan Steering Committee
1 (800) 884-1058, ext. 120
marcl@cdnaids.ca