B.C. organization among 4 to benefit from $4.3M in federal funding aimed at improving access to sexual health services

Canada's Health Minister Mark Holland announces $4.3 million in federal funding to support four B.C. organizations that provide sexual health and reproductive services for Indigenous, racialized and LGBTQ2S+ individuals in Vancouver, B.C., on Aug. 9, 2023.

In an effort to improve access to sexual health and reproductive services for marginalized communities, the federal government is providing more than $4.3 million to four organizations, including one in British Columbia.

While announcing the investment in Vancouver on Wednesday, Canada’s new Health Minister Mark Holland broke down how the funds will be distributed and highlighted the importance of empowering people to access health services.

“It’s not enough that the services are available, people have to walk in the door and be able access those services,” said Holland. “It’s not just a question of getting into these rural and remote communities, it’s about attacking the stigma that’s imposed on people that means they don’t feel safe or able to come forward to tell their story.”

The Indigenous Health department of B.C.’s Provincial Health Services Authority is slated to receive $1.8 million of the new funding, which Holland says will help expand PHSA’s educational materials for Indigenous-led programs. Another $1.4 million will go towards the National Council of Indigenous Midwives, which works with racialized people and immigrants. The Native Women’s Association of Canada is getting $600,000 to help identify information gaps and close barriers that Indigenous people face while trying to access sexual and reproductive health resources, according to Holland.

He explained the final $500,000 is reserved for Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak to identify barriers facing Métis women and members of the LGBTQ2S+ community.

Heather Hastings, PHSA Indigenous Health’s executive director of cultural safety and transformation, says the federal funding will help uphold the voices of Indigenous people.

“We now know and understand how colonization and racism has created barriers to health for Indigenous people and have led to poor health outcomes,” said Hastings. “Through this grant we aim to understand how Indigenous identify intersects with gender and sexuality and the experiences of Indigenous women and LGBTQ2S+ (individuals) as they are further impacted by colonialism and racism.”

The $4.3 million investment is part of Health Canada’s SRH fund, which was established in 2021 with the goal of improving access to sexual reproductive health care for Canadians who face the greatest barriers.

To date, the government has supported 23 projects through the fund and committed $81 million to the initiative over a six-year period.