All women, girls, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people in Canada deserve access to culturally safe, trauma-informed, non-stigmatizing, and high-quality healthcare that reflects and respects their unique intersectional identities, no matter who they are or where they live. Nobody should be disadvantaged by discrimination and inequality and prevented from achieving their optimal health and wellness.
Today, the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, and the Honourable Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, announced an $8.3M investment from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)'s Institute of Gender and Health and Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) for the Pan-Canadian Women's Health Coalition - Hubs.
There will be 10 virtual hubs across Canada that will link and form the coalition with a coordinating centre. The objectives are to mobilize and scale-up newly generated and existing knowledge and models of care, maximize research impact within and beyond the Coalition, build capacity for the next generation of women's health researchers through training and mentorship opportunities embedded within the hub, and engage in community-based priority setting activities as well as identify future critical areas of women's health research based on community, regional and/or national needs.
The hubs will focus on key priority areas, such as the health of Indigenous Peoples, gender-diverse people, women living with HIV, and women who are incarcerated. The hubs will also focus on reproductive health, prevention of violence against women and girls, and achieving greater equity in health services.
A separate funding opportunity for the coordinating centre was launched in June 2023. The hubs and the coordinating centre will work together to maximize the visibility and impact of women's health research and practice in Canada by committing to the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion, and Indigenous Rights.
