The Intersectoral Action Fund addresses complex public health challenges

May 12, 2022   |  Calgary, Alberta   |  Public Health Agency of Canada

Canada is one of the healthiest countries in the world, and everyone in Canada deserves opportunities to thrive and lead a healthy life. The Government of Canada recognizes that every individual should have the resources and opportunities for health and wellbeing and is taking action to address systemic health challenges and barriers.

Health inequities are the systematic, unfair and avoidable differences in health outcomes. Health inequities have long existed in Canada, but have been even more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic disproportionately affected the mental and physical wellbeing of many groups in society, including Indigenous peoples, Black and racialized communities, as well as people from lower income households, children, youth, and seniors.

Today, Adam van Koeverden, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, announced an investment of more than $635,000 through the new Intersectoral Action Fund (ISAF) for three Alberta-based organizations to address the complex public health challenges that affect people’s health and wellbeing and how health is experienced by certain groups of people.

Children First Canada (CFC), based in Calgary, will receive $250,000 in funding towards a project that targets the wellbeing of children and youth across the country. This new funding will help CFC develop a national strategy to better understand the issues facing kids and how to tackle the top 10 threats to children’s health.

The Red Deer Urban Aboriginal Voices Society will receive $141,300 in funding to develop a community health impact assessment tool based on Indigenous social determinants of health. The tool will inform future community development projects led by the Urban Aboriginal Voices Society and partner agencies seeking to develop more effective programs and services for Indigenous peoples.

The Ribbon Rouge Foundation, based in Edmonton, will receive $243,940 in funding to help address health inequities within the African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) communities in Alberta. By establishing a coalition of partners from diverse sectors and increasing data capacity, this project will help improve health equity for ACB communities.

The Public Health Agency of Canada, through the ISAF, is funding projects across the country to improve the conditions for health and the systems and structures that shape them, and to help everyone in Canada reach their full health potential.