A warm welcome to our final newsletter of 2025! In this special edition, we pause to look back at the moments and stories that shaped our year. Sit back with your favourite beverage and spend the next eight minutes reflecting with us.
The start of the year saw newsfeeds dominated by Federal Election 2025 coverage. To help members advance the conversation around global health, our election toolkit and candidate engagement guide provided resources to connect with digital and physical communities across the country. Our summary of the implications of the election results provided answers to pertinent and emerging questions.
Following the discontinuation of funding for the Demographic Health Survey Program, a cornerstone of health data in many countries, CanWaCH launched a two-part webinar series to explore the far-reaching impacts of these changes and what they mean for the future of global health. After virtual consultations engaging hundreds of Canadian and global partners, CanWaCH also produced a DHS resource providing background context, useful insights, relevant links and calls to action for the sector.
November 4 marked the release of Budget 2025 — and the sector came together to respond. Led by CanWaCH and Cooperation Canada, our joint response garnered more than 100 signatures in a single night from Canadian NGOs concerned about the planned cuts to the international assistance envelope.
CSW69 brought together governments, civil society organizations, experts and activists from March 10 to 21. The November 2025 International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) saw the global community gather in Bogotá, Colombia, to share knowledge, strengthen partnerships, and drive global progress to sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender equality. CanWaCH was pleased to attend both moments and support the participation of youth and delegates from organizations across our membership. Read all of their insights on Write to Thrive!
Alongside civil society organizations with this year’s Civil 7, CanWaCH attended the 2025 G7 summit. In the five months following the summit, our #FiveToThrive campaign called on Canada to use its G7 platform to drive lasting progress in global health. And in September, CanWaCH joined the 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 80). From sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and maternal health to nutrition, mental health and the rise of non-communicable diseases, the message was clear: women and children do not experience their health in siloes, and our policies and investments cannot either.
In Canada, CanWaCH was a convener and co-host of key moments throughout the year, including an International Development Week (IDW) roundtable, a celebration of a renewed commitment to global immunization efforts and an event charting the next chapter for Canada’s nutrition leadership.
In February, CanWaCH was pleased to announce an exciting new partnership with the Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG) on Reproductive Health in Crises, the longest-standing and only global coalition focused specifically on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in humanitarian settings. In its role as organizational host for IAWG, CanWaCH will leverage its expertise in coalition and partnership work, virtual working groups and stakeholder engagement, and secretariat operations to support IAWG’s work to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights for people affected by crises.
Composed of 10 hubs, the Pan-Canadian Women’s Health Coalition brings together researchers from across the country to address persistent gaps and under-researched areas of women’s and gender diverse people’s health. Launched in the fall of 2025, the Grand Rounds series is spotlighting Hubs that are transforming women’s health research and practice across Canada.
Partnering with hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser and her team, we continued to bring women’s and children’s global health to centre ice at WickFest, launching FuelHER to connect with the next generation of gamechangers.
Over the summer, CanWaCH branched out once again to host a special event at the Calgary Stampede — a setting not often associated with conversations about global health and international development. The event featured a keynote address by CanWaCH Board Chair Onome Ako, who spoke to Canada’s proud legacy of leadership in women’s and children’s health, with a particular emphasis on nutrition.
We welcomed seven new members to the CanWaCH membership this year!
Farm Radio International works in partnership with radio broadcasters to reach and serve rural communities across Africa. Development Impact Solutions offers customized solutions to business, tech and development challenges, primarily in the global south. Opportunity International Canada provides innovative financial solutions, training and support to people living in poverty, empowering them to build sustainable livelihoods. Oxfam Canada works globally to fight poverty and inequality with a focus on women’s rights. Through advocacy, collaboration, education and research, the Public Health Association of BC provides leadership to promote health, well-being and social equity. A department at McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, the Ingram School of Nursing seeks to educate current and future nurses, advance the art and science of nursing through impactful research, and optimize health and health equity globally through academic excellence, impactful research, strengths-based nursing and innovation. And the Peter Gilgan Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of children and families worldwide with a focus on health, sustainability and charitable excellence.
The CanWaCH Academy was back from September 22 to 25! Shaped by the theme Adapting to Change: Strengthening Capacity in a Shifting World, this year’s sessions sought to help members adapt and respond to a rapidly changing world. You can now watch the recordings of eligible Academy sessions and even check out some of the slide decks.
In May, CanWaCH reimagined its Global Health Impact Summit. In previous years, the event centred on a single thematic focus, with projects clustered around one subject area. In 2025, we shifted course. Guided by the theme Data That Speaks: Harnessing Qualitative Insights for Global Health and Gender Equality, the Summit placed methodology at the forefront, exploring the potential of qualitative data to complement and enhance traditional quantitative approaches.
July saw us host our first fully francophone workshop. Bringing together CSOs and researchers, participants sought to co-create the future of sexual and reproductive health and maternal, newborn and child health. Over a rich day of shared learning, participants discussed shared goals, strengthened mutual understanding and built networks for future collaboration.
This year, CanWaCH broke new ground with the release of our first-ever public engagement (PE) guidance note: A Practical Guide to In-Person Public Engagement Events. Whether you’re aiming to connect with youth, highlight global health initiatives or strengthen community ties, find event principles and a downloadable checklist to support your efforts!
Our At a Glance series grew in its repertoire of quick guides you can easily digest and put into practice. New tips and tools were shared to help you write and pitch op-eds, maximize your organization’s LinkedIn presence and better understand influencer marketing — to name a few!
Social media toolkits supported members in their efforts to engage during sector moments. A World Sexual Day toolkit shared key messages for conversations on sexual health and reproductive rights (SRHR). A 16 Days toolkit helped members join the global call for solidarity to end violence against women and girls everywhere.
A year on from the Healthy World Conference, our new Technical Guidance Note on Climate, Gender Equality and Health sought to help organizations integrate climate considerations into gender-responsive health programming.
After an incredible nine years of leadership and growth, 2025 saw Julia Anderson step down from her position as CEO. Julia’s tenure has been marked by remarkable achievements and milestones that have shaped the very foundation of CanWaCH, its mission and its impact both in Canada and around the world.
We’re excited to welcome Caitlin Goggin as CEO in January 2026. A proud Maritimer raised in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Caitlin brings 20 years of experience in international development and humanitarian response across Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East.
We’re also pleased to welcome three new Board Members: Gavin Armstrong, Navin Singh and Shelley Borys! Learn more about their work by visiting our Board and Staff page. Thank you to outgoing Board Members Tim Evans, Danny Glenwright, Nilima Gulrajani and Ky’okusinga Kirunga for their valued contributions.
Interested in attending CSW70? CanWaCH is thrilled to launch our bursary program in support of our members!
Vitally Important: National Women’s Health Summit brings together leading researchers, clinicians, innovators, and advocates from across the country for two days of conversation, collaboration, and action. This is where we begin rewriting the story — together.
We are pleased to share a new resource developed to inform and bolster the work of the entire CanWaCH membership.
Our new position paper, Delivering the Promise: Equity, Rights and Resilience in RMNCAH-N, offers the most comprehensive, evidence-driven analysis we’ve undertaken in recent years on the state of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition worldwide.
We were pleased to publish a range of stories from voices in global health this year. Here are a few to check out this holiday season!
Dive deeper into our past year with our annual report! We invite you to explore the milestones, stories and moments that made 2024–2025 a year of growth — both deep and wide. Discover how, together with our members and partners, we are cultivating lasting impact and reaching for meaningful change.
Thank you for all your support, collaboration and engagement over the last 12 months. From all of us at CanWaCH, we would like to wish you and yours a very happy holiday season!
Have an opportunity that you would like to share with us? Please contact us at [email protected].
Did you like this edition of our newsletter? Forward it to a friend or colleague!
Sent this by a friend? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter here.
