About HIV Buddies
A culturally sensitive network committed to creating an anti-racist, supportive environment for South Asian, MENA, and Muslim communities across Canada.
Our Mission
HIV Buddies strengthens the HIV care cascade by improving access to prevention, testing, and treatment for South Asian, Middle Eastern, North African, and Muslim communities in Canada.
- Peer-led education and support
- Harm reduction advocacy
- Leadership capacity building
- Community advocacy and empowerment
Our Vision
A Canada where South Asian, Middle Eastern, North African (MENA), and Muslim communities, including queer, trans, sex worker, and substance-using populations for sexual pleasures, live free from stigma, racism, and poverty, with equitable access to health care, HIV/HCV prevention, treatment cascade, and care, harm reduction, and human rights. We envision empowered communities whose leadership and visibility shape inclusive health and social systems.
Our Journey
The initiative for activism started in March 2014 and had massive work for treatment interventions and advocacy of treatment as prevention, but later, for collaboration and an online forum, HIV Buddies was founded in 2018 in Pakistan as a positive network to encourage queer community who are living with HIV to begin treatment, build leadership, and act as role models within their communities. What began as a small support initiative quickly expanded into an online forum in 2019 that provided HIV awareness, educational resources in national languages, and linkages to treatment centres and community-based organizations across the country in Pakistan and
During the COVID-19 pandemic, HIV Buddies collaborated with local organizations, especially HOPE: Have Only Positive Expectations, to deliver lifesaving support, including food, rent, essential supplies, and HIV medications, directly to community members’ doorsteps during lockdowns also arranged medicines for international visitors and stuck due to COVID-19.
Our Collaborations
We’ve worked with 50+ organizations worldwide to reduce HIV stigma and strengthen communities. Here are a few highlights
Our Core Values
Cultural Sensitivity
We honor and respect the diverse cultural, religious, and linguistic backgrounds of the communities we serve.
Anti-Racism
We actively work to dismantle systemic racism and discrimination in healthcare and community settings.
Peer Leadership
Community members lead our initiatives, ensuring authentic representation and lived experience guidance.
Confidentiality
We maintain the highest standards of privacy and confidentiality in all our services and interactions.
Health Equity
We advocate for equal access to healthcare and work to eliminate health disparities in our communities.
Harm Reduction
We support evidence-based approaches that prioritize health, safety, and dignity for all community members
Leadership Team
Yasir Khan
Program Director
Anas Raza
Communication and Strategy
Our Work is Made Possible By
Join Our Mission
Together, we can build a Canada where every community member has access to culturally sensitive HIV prevention, testing, and treatment.