Key take-home messages
- OHTN and its partners launched the KnowHIV awareness campaign on November 25th, featuring extensive out-of-home advertising and social media promotion
- The KnowHIV website aims to deliver plain language information to audiences with little prior knowledge
- KnowHIV is an ongoing multi-year awareness-raising effort to move Ontario towards the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets
Background
In the week leading up to World AIDS Day the Ontario HIV Treatment Network and its partners launched KnowHIV, a province-wide HIV awareness campaign consisting of billboards, posters and digital out-of-home ads, and supported by influencer marketing partnerships and media relations. This phase, marked by the tagline HIV is still a thing, is the first of a planned multi-year effort to move Ontario closer to achieving the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets and the vision articulated in the OACHA HIV Action Plan to 2030:
By 2030, new infections are rare, very few Ontarians are living with undiagnosed HIV, and all people with HIV have the treatments and other services and supports they need to manage their health well.
This first phase aims to start a broad, public conversation about HIV as it is now—preventable, treatable and potentially untransmittable. Future phases of the campaign will see a more tailored approach to reaching different communities across Ontario who are most impacted by HIV with messaging tailored to them.
Data tells us that approximately 23,000 people in Ontario are living with HIV. It is estimated that 3,000 of them are undiagnosed. This is a serious gap—we know the longer an HIV infection goes untreated, the greater the risk of damage to a person’s immune system and the more likely the virus is to be passed on. Unfortunately, many people are not aware that HIV could impact them.
KnowHIV’s long-term goal is to help bridge this gap. We hope to do this by reaching and engaging more people who may be vulnerable to HIV but unaware of it. Many of these individuals face systemic or social barriers to healthcare and health information, exacerbating the problem.
Starting the conversation
HIV is still a thing is just our starting point. It’s a broad message intended to capture the general public’s attention, build trust, and lay the foundation for future iterations of the campaign.
“We want people to know a lot has changed in HIV care since the epidemic of the eighties and nineties.” says Martin McIntosh, Regional HIV/AIDS Connection executive director, an organization within a robust network of AIDS Service Organizations that connect Ontarians with access to treatment, testing and prevention services. “Today, with effective treatment, people living with HIV can lead long, healthy lives with no risk of passing HIV to their sexual partners. Still, many don’t see themselves as at risk or face ongoing systemic and social barriers to care.”
McIntosh adds, “We know we have to address those barriers in order to improve access to services, so we have made a deliberate choice to not include faces in phase one of the KnowHIV campaign visuals in order to be as inclusive as possible.”
Key numbers
- In 2021, there were an estimated 23,172 people in Ontario living with HIV.
- Approximately 90% of those living with HIV (estimated 20,855) have been diagnosed but approximately 10% (estimated 2,317) are still undiagnosed and do not know they have HIV.
- 98% of people currently living with HIV who are on treatment have a low or undetectable viral load, which means they cannot pass on the virus sexually.
Looking to the future
“The OHTN and our partners have been intentional in how we set up this campaign to achieve broader reach than ever before,” says Rodney Rousseau, Ontario HIV Treatment Network board president. “We want all Ontarians to understand that HIV is ‘still a thing’ and encourage them to ‘know HIV’ – know their risk, prevention and testing options, as well as the facts that can help eliminate the stigma of the virus. This phase of the campaign is purely about this message, which is why we’ve chosen to stick to clear messaging and visuals. We hope to be unifying in our bold mission to stop HIV transmission in Ontario by 2030 and ensure that all people living with HIV are diagnosed, have access to HIV treatment and care, and can live long, full lives.”
KnowHIV’s initial run will last from November 25, 2024 through February 2025. Out-of-home marketing (including billboards, digital subway ads and street postering) will appear in targeted locations throughout Downtown Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area (including multiple University of Toronto campuses), Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Niagara Falls, London, Hamilton, Windsor and Oshawa. KnowHIV billboards will also be visible on major connecting highways across the province. The message will appear on the largest billboard at Sankofa Square (formerly known as Yonge-Dundas Square) throughout December. From December through February, Ontario-based social media influencers will engage with the campaign. Additional marketing, advertising, and PR efforts will continue throughout the remainder of 2025.
For more information on KnowHIV and other OHTN projects, email [email protected].