The Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN) is a stakeholder-driven, non-profit organization that supports Ontario’s response to HIV through data analytics, research funding, program innovation and capacity building. Funded primarily by HIV and Hepatitis C programs at the Ontario Ministry of Health, the OHTN focuses on populations most affected by HIV in the province, including people living with HIV, gay and bisexual men, African, Caribbean and Black communities, Indigenous peoples, women, and people who use injection drugs.
Role of OHTN in the funding ecosystem
OHTN is a significant grant provider in Ontario’s HIV sector. Through its HIV Endgame Program, it invests in people and projects that can transform HIV prevention, engagement and care, strengthen integrated health and social services, and address social determinants of health. Funding is allocated via several competitive streams, including project grants for high-impact interventions, implementation science funding, community-based project and participatory evaluation awards, incubator awards for high-risk, high-reward initiatives, and salary-based awards for investigators and emerging leaders.
Main grant and award streams
- Breaking New Ground / Game Changer grants – investigator-driven project funding to pilot, evaluate or scale up innovative HIV interventions that can dramatically improve prevention, treatment and care in Ontario.
- Implementation Science grants – support for developing and testing sustainable, evidence-informed HIV programs and services that contribute to a rapid learning health and social system.
- Junior Investigator and Postdoctoral grants – salary support for emerging researchers who work closely with OHTN and sector partners to build HIV innovation capacity.
- Community-Based Project and Participatory Evaluation Program (CBPPEP) – small to mid-sized grants for AIDS service organizations and community partners to conduct needs assessments, quality improvement and evaluation projects grounded in community priorities.
- Incubator grants – ongoing project funding for high-risk, high-reward initiatives that test and scale promising models to help Ontario meet or exceed 95‑95‑95 targets.
- Specialized training and leadership awards – such as the OHTN Training Award in high-resolution anoscopy and the Winston Husbands Leadership Award focused on Black communities, which provide targeted salary or training support.
Strategic orientation and investment criteria
Under its Endgame Strategic Plan to 2026, OHTN applies explicit criteria to decide what it funds: relevance to the HIV prevention, testing and care cascades; impact focus and rapid-learning potential; efficiency, feasibility and sustainability in the Ontario context; and alignment with health equity and meaningful community engagement. Proposals to the HIV Endgame Program undergo a two-stage peer review that assesses relevance, potential impact, and scientific and technical merit.
Beyond grants: data, evaluation and capacity building
In addition to direct funding, OHTN manages key provincial data and reporting platforms such as the Ontario HIV Epidemiology and Surveillance Initiative (OHESI), the OHTN Cohort Study (OCS), OCHART and OCASE. It runs a rapid response service for evidence syntheses, hosts knowledge repositories, and offers education and training through initiatives like the OHTN Health HIVe and HIV Testing Ontario. These activities complement its grant programs by helping funded innovators and sector partners use data and evidence to design, implement and evaluate effective interventions.
Through this combined portfolio of grants, salary awards, data systems and training, the OHTN acts as a backbone organization for Ontario’s HIV sector, supporting collective impact and continuous improvement in HIV prevention, care and support across the province.
