Canadians are familiar with the devastating emotional, health, social and economic consequences of AIDS in Western countries, but may be unaware of the much greater suffering in developing countries. It has also established a partnership between a Namibian AIDS organization and AIDS Vancouver Island to develop educational workshops and kits. Many other Canadian development agencies have also launched programs. Important as these initiatives are, Canadian development agencies' AIDS programming just begins to address the problem. One could draw a parallel and say that the response of Western countries today to AIDS as a global issue is comparable to the insignificant response of the United States, Canada and European countries to AIDS in the early 1980s as a domestic issue.
Denial is of course one explanation.
Denial has touched every aspect of the struggle against AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic, and has often seemed as strong as the virus itself. Unfortunately, the international development arena is just as guilty of denial as other sectors. Considering the multitude of problems in the developing world, denial is a defence against admitting that there is yet another formidable crisis to confront. One of the greatest challenges facing ICAD is overcoming denial within governments and development and funding agencies. Another explanation lies in the limited resources available to Canadian development agencies .