Ayaangwaamiziwin Centre
A ground-breaking HIV and syphilis testing, care and treatment initiative in Canada.
Named after the Ojibwe word for “carefulness and preparedness,” the Ayaangwaamiziwin Centre is a network of organizations delivering testing, prevention, harm reduction, and treatment for HIV, syphilis and other STBBIs in underserved, rural and remote regions in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut.
A meeting in Manitoba brought together changemakers determined to reach those left behind who have undiagnosed HIV and syphilis.
In March 2024, researchers, health workers, advocates, and Indigenous leaders gathered in Winnipeg to forge a new way to reach communities too often left behind. Guided by a Two-Eyed Seeing approach, the Centre blends Indigenous and Western ways of knowing, ensuring interventions are holistic, community-led, and culturally grounded. At its heart, the Ayaangwaamiziwin Centre is building a shared vision of care rooted in trust, empathy, and safety—ensuring people most affected by HIV and syphilis have access to dignified, culturally-safe responsive healthcare where they live.
The Centre includes over 25 partner organizations.
The initiative is co-led by REACH Nexus, Communities, Alliances & Network (CAAN) and Indigenous Services Canada, alongside public health and community agencies – and involving people with lived experience around the table making sure this work is the most relevant and impactful:
- Public Health North Zone, Alberta Health Services in High Level, Alberta
- StreetWorks and Radius Community Health and Healing in Edmonton, Alberta
- Northreach Society in Grande Prairie, Alberta
- Wellness Wheel Medical Clinic and All Nations Hope Network in Regina, Saskatchewan
- Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority in Prince Albert and northern Saskatchewan
- Ka Ni Kanichihk and Siloam Mission in Winnipeg, Manitoba
- One Yukon Coalition and Kwanlin Dün First Nation in Whitehorse, Yukon
- Chief Public Health Officers in Northwest Territories and Nunavut
More than 1,200 people have been enrolled in point-of-care testing, got access to treatments and connected to culturally safe care.
The Centre represents a historic, Indigenous-focused effort to test, treat, and connect over 11,500 people to trauma-informed, culturally grounded care. Many of the people tested come from Indigenous or remote communities long underserved by traditional healthcare systems because of racism, colonization, and trauma from residential schools. The model meets people where they are—whether in remote northern First Nations, urban shelters, or street encampments. The Centre’s work comes at a critical moment. From 2020-2023, Canada has seen a roughly 85% increase in new HIV diagnoses. In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, rates are three times the national average.
