CIHR Centre for REACH in HIV/AIDS (REACH 3.0) - A National Canadian Research and Knowledge Mobilization Network to Connect People to Testing and Care and Reduce Stigma for HIV, HCV and other Sexually and Bloodborne Infections (STBBI)

Since 2009, the CIHR Centre for REACH (1.0/2.0) has been a Canadian leader in collaborative, interdisciplinary, and community-driven HIV/STBBI services and population health research. REACH supports a nation-wide team - with hubs in Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia - to engage in innovative research, participatory evaluation, community-based research (CBR), and program/implementation science research in HIV, HCV and STBBIs. REACH has made significant research and capacity-building gains by engaging policy-makers, community-based agencies, clinicians, people with lived experience and researchers to respond to regional/national HIV health issues. REACH 3.0 will continue and advance the work of REACH to date - our vision is to be a broker of pragmatic solutions to end the HIV epidemic in Canada, and in so doing, to influence the course of HCV and other STBBIs. With this vision in mind, our 5-year goals are to contribute to efforts to increase the proportion of people living with HIV who are diagnosed to >95%, ensure that >95% of people who know their HIV status are on treatment, and for those with HIV on treatment, 95% have their virus suppressed. We will also contribute to efforts to ensure that HCV infection is cleared, and that HIV/HCV stigma is reduced so people have fewer barriers to testing, treatment and care. The REACH 3.0 Centre will provide research infrastructure and coordination for regional and national signature projects; provide capacity-building and career development for all team members; ensure that research findings are mobilized into services and policy action; and we will evaluate our outputs and outcomes to ensure we are meeting our goals. National signature research projects include implementation and scale up of innovative HIV, HCV and STBBI testing in Canada, as well as a major national initiative to document and create interventions for HIV and related stigma and discrimination.