Grants and Contributions

Project activities include: (1) improving health management capacity; (2) improving delivery of and access to quality health care and nutrition services; (3) promoting care-seeking; (4) improving nutrition; (5) engaging men and family members to reduce gender-related barriers; (6) providing capacity building to health management teams and health workers directly; (7) engaging and offering education to men and key family members on the importance of maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) and how they can support the health of women and children; and (8) increasing the awareness of Canadians in MNCH issues through public engagement initiatives.

Activities include: (1) training women and men health workers and traditional birth attendants to dispense accurate advice on ante and post-natal care, promote healthy habits, provide basic health care, identify high risk pregnancies and make referrals to government-run medical facilities; (2) equipping a select number of health centers with essential equipment to reduce infection, monitor vital signs of fetuses and facilitate night time deliveries; (3) constructing dispensaries, nurses' houses and expectant mothers' houses to encourage facility based delivery; (4) providing rapid and affordable transport to medical facilities; (5) improving access to clean water and nutritious food; and (6) mobilizing and equipping communities and village leaders for sustainability of MNCH and gender results. This initiative is expected to contribute directly to the improved health and nutrition of approximately 2 million women, men and children and in addition, around 1 million individuals.

P001057001: This project aims to reduce mortality rates among pregnant women, newborns and children under five in Haiti by supporting four healthcare facilities in providing obstetrics and neonatal emergency services. Haiti is one of the countries most affected by maternal mortality and child morbidity. The towns of Leogane and Gressier are located in the West department, where the population is densest and highest. This is also where the use of health institutions, consultations, coverage and assisted deliveries are lowest. Project activities include: (1) training healthcare personnel in reproductive health; (2) implementing a network of 50 polyvalent community health workers to increase offer and usage of available maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) services; (3) rehabilitating and building community healthcare centres to facilitate efficient service delivery; (4) stocking community healthcare centres in target communities with medical supplies, basic medicine and necessary medical equipment; and (5) implementing a functional and effective integrated approach and coordinating mechanism amongst main stakeholders.

The project directly benefits approximately 30,000 women, men and children residing in the Léogâne and Gressier communities, and benefits indirectly 224,000 people living in these two communities surrounding areas. It also contributes to helping 15,000 people in Canada to understand issues related to maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) in Haiti.

The project is implemented by a consortium lead by the Léger Foundation in collaboration with the Centre de coopération internationale en santé et développement (CCISD). It is also implemented with the collaboration of the following local partners: l’Unité Communale de Santé (UCS) de Léogane, under the Direction Sanitaire de l’Ouest of the Ministry of Public Health and Population of the Government of Haiti, and the Sœurs Missionnaires du Christ Roi.

P001057002: This project aims to reduce mortality rates among pregnant women, newborns and children under five in Haiti by supporting four healthcare facilities in providing obstetrics and neonatal emergency services. This project provides additional funds in response to immediate needs to fight the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Project activities include: 1) reinforcing epidemiological surveillance systems in order to enable early detection of cases and to prevent further spreading; 2) reinforcing prevention and control measures in both hospital and community settings, and adapting routine care services as needed; 3) raising awareness about the pandemic progression and the public health measures to be taken by the public and health workers; and 4) reinforcing coordination with government health response measures to address the pandemic.

P001058001: The project aims to reduce maternal and child mortality by strengthening essential maternal, newbord and child health (MNCH) services in the Guatemala. Project activities include: (1) providing training and technical assistance to the Ministry of Health to develop and deploy distance education programs for health professionals and community healthcare workers, (2) providing training and technical assistance to health professional to use a community eHealth system for improving MNCH services to rural communities; and (3) providing technical assistance to health authorities at the national, district and community levels to use MNCH data from community eHealth system, and (4) proving technical assistance to increase the dissemination and use of vital events data. The project is expected to contribute directly the improved health of approximately two million people in the departments of Alta Verapaz, Huehuetenango, El Quiche and Sololá in Guatemala. Tula Foundation is implementing the project in collaboration with TulaSalud, McMaster University, Tigo Foundation, Alliance for Nutrition Foundation, and the Guatemalan Ministry of Health.

P001058002: The project aims to reduce maternal and child mortality by strengthening essential maternal, newbord and child health (MNCH) services in the Guatemala. Project activities include: (1) providing training and technical assistance to the Ministry of Health to develop and deploy distance education programs for health professionals and community healthcare workers, (2) providing training and technical assistance to health professional to use a community eHealth system for improving MNCH services to rural communities; and (3) providing technical assistance to health authorities at the national, district and community levels to use MNCH data from community eHealth system, and (4) proving technical assistance to increase the dissemination and use of vital events data. The project is expected to contribute directly the improved health of approximately two million people in the departments of Alta Verapaz, Huehuetenango, El Quiche and Sololá in Guatemala. Tula Foundation is implementing the project in collaboration with TulaSalud, McMaster University, Tigo Foundation, Alliance for Nutrition Foundation, and the Guatemalan Ministry of Health.

Project activities include: (1) recruiting, training and equipping community healthcare workers to promote and provide basic health services; (2) training local health councils in improved data collection, analysis and reporting to inform planning and delivery of maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) services; (3) raising awareness of primary caretakers on key nutritional practices, including dietary diversity; (4) providing inputs and training in the development of home gardens; (5) training of peer-based networks/care groups on malnutrition prevention and sexual and reproductive health rights issues (i.e. family planning, early forced child marriage, sexual gender-based violence; (6) informing and increasing community participation in policy dialogue with governments on MNCH and sexual and reproductive health and rights; and, (7) implementing interactive media and linking Canadians with empowered youth in a mentorship program to improve the knowledge and ability of Canadians to engage in international MNCH, nutrition, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender issues.

Project activities include: (1) developing regional and country-specific extractive industry audit guidelines, training curricula and other technical resources aligned with international best practices, including gender and environment-specific tools; (2) completing extractive industry pilot audits in target countries to test guidelines and technical resources; (3) delivering extractive industry audit training and on-the-job coaching to Supreme Audit Institutions and other national oversight bodies; and (4) developing guidelines and processes for systematically engaging stakeholders, including citizens, women’s groups, civil society organizations, media and industry in extractive industry auditing processes.

The project supports the Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH), a network of Canadian non-governmental organizations, health professionals and academia representatives who work on issues related to maternal, newborn and child health in developing countries. The project aims to: (1) enhance knowledge sharing among its member organizations of best practices in women’s, adolescents' and children’s health globally, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR); (2) increase the contribution of Canadian partners and technical experts to report on global health; and (3) improve engagement of Canadian stakeholders, the private sector and the public on global women’s, adolescents' and children’s health issues. CanWaCH’s work is focused on the core pillars of: knowledge exchange, measuring results and stakeholder engagement.

Chemical-induced gender specific hepatic cancer: a rodent model for understanding gender specific effects