CANADA RENEWS PARTNERSHIP WITH UNAIDS

Canada's minister of health, Tony Clement, announced that Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada have signed a new formal partnership arrangement with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

UNAIDS is a leading advocate for global action on HIV/AIDS, bringing together the efforts and resources of 10 United Nations organizations. Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency, funds close to 4 percent of UNAIDS' total annual budget. For 2006 and 2007, Canada's annual contribution increased from $5.4 million to $7.6 million.

The goals of the partnership include:Preventing the acquisition and transmission of new infections; Slowing the progression of the disease and improving quality of life; andContributing to the global effort to reduce the spread of HIV and mitigating the impact of the disease.

The arrangement will be effective through August 2011.