Message from CanWaCH Executive Director, Helen Scott:
Although it is only March, 2018 has already proven to be an important year for our Partnership. On February 27th, the Government of Canada unveiled its 2018 budget, which included $2 billion in new funding for international assistance over the next five years. CanWaCH applauded this announcement in our Budget 2018 Statement and many of our Members also gave their strong support. We also published a Budget 2018: Highlights and Backgrounder summary document, to outline what the budget means for our sector.
Planning for our annual spring policy conference is also well underway. Our Beyond 2020: An Agenda for Canadian Leadership in Women and Children’s Health Conference, April 18-19, is a ‘must-attend’ event for any organization or individual planning to implement women and children’s health projects and/or programs post-2020. Registration is open and you can find a newly released Preliminary Program on our website. We have secured a group rate at the beautiful Westin Ottawa Hotel, but be sure to book your room soon as the reduced rate ends after March 21st.
We are also pleased to announce the launch of our 1st Annual Canadian Excellence in Women and Children’s Health Awards at our Conference’s evening reception. There are four categories: Leadership Award, Gender Equality Award, Measuring Impact Award and Youth Advocacy Award. If you want to nominate someone deserving of recognition in one of these areas, please hurry! The deadline for nominations is March 26th at 5:00 pm. Follow all of our Conference updates on social media using #CanWaCH2020.
On behalf of the entire CanWaCH Secretariat team and Conference planning committees, we cannot wait to meet with you in April to discuss successes and lessons learned to date and to focus on creating an agenda for the future of Canada’s leadership in women and children’s health.
Until then, we wish you all the best.
Helen Scott
Global Affairs Canada’s Call to Action Brings Together Canadian Partners Working in Haiti
In February 2018, Global Affairs Canada launched a Call to Action to bring together Canadian partners working in Haiti’s health sector in order to better coordinate Canada’s interventions in strengthening the Haitian health system. Since then, the Call to Action has been endorsed by over 20 Canadian NGOs and academic institutions. Additionally, with the help of CanWaCH’s Project Explorer and an online survey sent out to the organizations that endorsed the Call to Action, two maps were created that show all of the Canadian actors working in Haiti’s health sector. The maps will be a used as a starting point for facilitating coordination with and between Canadian organizations in Haiti and are meant to be used in parallel with the Project Explorer, where more project details can be shared.
CanWaCH Secretariat Grows as Preparations Continue for Women Deliver 2019
CanWaCH has taken on a mobilizer role to help engage and gather Canadian organizations in the lead-up to the Women Deliver Conference taking place in Vancouver from June 3-6, 2019. We are pleased to announce that Julie Savard-Shaw has joined us as our new Director of Strategic Partnerships to lead our Women Deliver mobilizing work. Previously, Julie worked in the Prime Minister’s Office, providing policy advice on international, gender and immigration-related matters. If you are interested in engaging with us on the exciting road to Women Deliver 2019 or know of other organizations that should be involved, please email Julie.
This month’s Deliver forGood theme is Strengthen Women’s Political Participation & Decision-Making Power. Evidence proves that when #WomenLead, there is a significant return on investment – both socially and financially. You can find out more about the monthly theme, plus access resources including communications and advocacy tools, on their Deliver for Good page.
CanWaCH is a Deliver for Good Campaign Ally and our members are invited to share any related content or information on the campaign’s monthly themes by emailing us.
Global Affairs Canada Groundtruths Key Performance Indicators for Global Sexual and Reproductive Health Programming
In order to make Canada’s global sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) programming more effective, Global Affairs Canada has outlined a number of Key Performance Indicators to better capture results from Canadian SRHR programming worldwide. In January 2018, CanWaCH was engaged to conduct a consultation process on these indicators, seeking feedback from a total of 61 organizations involved in SRHR globally. A detailed report summarizing the findings and recommendations is available on our website. If you would like to learn more about the report and the consultation, process, please email Jessica Ferne, Manager, Global Health Impact.
Global Citizen Petition Calls on Prime Minister Trudeau to Ensure Canada Continues to be a Leader for Women and Children’s Health
Global Citizen Canada has launched a petition calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to ensure that Canada is a leader for women and children’s health around the world. Please help amplify the message by promoting it on your social media channels using the hashtags
#GlobalCitizenLive and #BetheGeneration
The petition is connected to an April 12th concert in Vancouver and by signing the petition, participants have a chance to win tickets to see Sam Roberts Band. If you would like to contribute stories from the field on women and children’s health for the Global Citizen website, email Caitlin Reid.
Have your say in CanWaCH’s Annual Member Survey!
Over the past year, CanWaCH has engaged in a broad range of activities with our Members, Associates and Partners, all oriented towards strengthening our collective objective to improve the lives of women and children around the world. Now, we want to hear from our Members to help us ensure that we are meeting your needs, to track our progress in some key areas and to get input on where we should focus efforts in the future.
If you are a CanWaCH Member or Associate, please take a few minutes to share your responses to the following survey. All responses are anonymous.
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau and Minister Sajjan Highlight the Importance of Nutrition in Empowering Women and Girls During Visit to India
Madame Sophie Grégoire Trudeau and Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan launched the Asian component of Nutrition International’s She’ll Grow Into It campaign as part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s official visit to India in February. At the campaign launch, Madame Trudeau and Minister Sajjan, met with 12 adolescent schoolgirls to hear about their goals, and the barriers they face in achieving them. You can read the full details on Nutrition International’s website.
62nd Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women Begins!
The UN Commission on the Status of Women’s (CSW) 62nd Session began this week and continues until March 23rd. This year’s theme is “Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls.” You can follow along on social media using the hashtag #CSW62 and CanWaCH will be there to represent our Partnership and connect with our international partners next week. For more information and resources, please visit UN Women’s CSW page and stay tuned for CanWaCH’s CSW coverage on our website, social media and April newsletter.
A Look into the South Sudan Reality
South Sudan has one of the highest newborn mortality rates in the world: one in 26 newborn babies die within the first month of life. Four years into a brutal conflict, a shortage of trained health workers and a lack of essential medicines and equipment mean that giving birth in South Sudan results far too often in tragedy. And yet, many of these deaths are preventable. With funding support from the Government of Canada and Kiwanis International, UNICEF is working in South Sudan to end child deaths from tetanus, including training health care workers and mothers on hygienic birth practices. Find out more on the UNICEF Canada blog.
Call for Abstracts Now Open for Canadian Association of Midwives’ Annual Conference
The Canadian Association of Midwives (CAM) Annual Conference will be held October 17th to 19th, 2018in Gatineau, Quebec. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘In Good Hands: Midwives Leading the Way in Reproductive Health and Rights’. CAM’s Program Planning Committee is inviting Canadian and international speakers to submit abstracts related to this theme for oral and poster presentations. Deadline is March 30th. For more information, visit CAM’s website.
Teens get a Preventative Preview of Parenthood
Nicaragua has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Latin America, but Christian Children’s Fund of Canada(CCFC) is working to address this issue with their ‘Think About It’ campaign. “It was a methodology practised through the use of games to educate youth about teen pregnancy prevention,” explains Karla Ramírez, CCFC’s monitoring and evaluation officer in Nicaragua. As part of the project, participants had to take care of baby simulators to get a feel for what it’s like to be a parent. You can watch CCFC’s project video to find out how the teens did with their new “babies.”
Canadian Medical Association Journal: Call for Papers on Sepsis
The Canadian Medical Association Journal is planning a special issue on sepsis and has issued a call for papers. The deadline is April 1, 2018. The scope of the articles can include prevention, early diagnosis, treatment or post-illness management. They will also accept analysis papers and commentaries specifically addressing relevant health policy as well as physician and patient experience with sepsis for the humanities section or CMAJ blogs.
ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS
A “good birth” goes beyond having a healthy baby, by Dr. Princess Nothemba Simelela, WHO Assistant Director-General for Family, Women, Children and Adolescents
All gender inequality is not equal, by The Lancet Global Health
The Biology of the First 1,000 Days, by Sight and Life
Canada: global leadership on health, The Lancet Series on Canada and Offline: Canada and global health—iconic or ironic?, by Richard Horton for The Lancet
Family Planning: A Global Handbook for Providers, by the WHO, USAID and John Hopkins University
GFF Country Workshop Report, by the Global Financing Facility
Global Health 50/50 Report: How gender-responsive are the world’s most influential global health organisations?, by the Global Health 50/50 initiative, University College London Centre for Gender and Global Health
Report card shows gender is missing in global health, by Helen Clark for The Lancet
Shining A Light For Those Who Suffer In Silence, by Darcy Knoll, CARE Canada
Sublingual Sugar Technique, by Antenna Foundation
Turning Promises into Action: Gender Equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, by UN Women
Volunteer to End Violence Against Women, by Sarah Pentlow, Cuso International
Who and what Gets Left Behind? Assessing Canada’s Domestic Status on the Sustainable Development Goals, by Brookings Institution
UPCOMING EVENTS
March 12-23: 62nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, New York
March 15-18: 9th Annual CUGH Global Health Conference, New York
March 21: Dalla Lana School of Public Health’s Office of Global Public Health, Education and Training,Bending the Arc Film Screening, Reception and Panel, Toronto
March 21-23: Data for Development Festival, Bristol, UK
March 22: Amref Health Africa in Canada, Success factors in ending Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), New York
March 23: BCCIC and Community Foundations of Canada, Alliance 2030: Canada and the SDGs,Vancouver
March 24: World Tuberculosis Day
March 28: Health Equity Impact Assessment (HEIA), Why Gender Inclusive Language Matters for Health Equity, Webinar
April 7: World Health Day
April 15-19: 11th International Symposium on Pneumococci & Pneumococcal Diseases, Melbourne, Australia
April 17-18: CanWaCH Conference: Beyond 2020: An Agenda for Canadian Leadership in Women and Children’s Health, Ottawa
April 20: Partners in Health Canada, Bending the Arc Film Screening, Ottawa
April 24-30: World Immunization Week
April 25: World Malaria Day
May 5-7: RESULTS Canada, 2018 RESULTS Canada National Conference, Ottawa
May 21-26: World Health Assembly, Geneva
May 23: International Day to End Obstetric Fistula
May 24-25: Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Indigenous Health Conference, Mississauga ON
May 28-June 2: 36th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Malmö, Sweden
June 11-22: McGill University, McGill Summer Institute in Infectious Diseases and Global Health, Montreal
June 12: Devex, Devex World Conference, Washington D.C.
June 20: World Refugee Day
June 23-27: Rotary Convention, Toronto
July 28: World Hepatitis Day
August 12: International Youth Day
August 19: World Humanitarian Day
October 11: International Day of the Girl Child
October 15: International Day of Rural Women
October 16: World Food Day
October 17-19: Canadian Association of Midwives, 2018 Canadian Association of Midwives Conference and AGM, Gatineau QC
October 22-24: UN World Data Forum 2018, Dubai
November 10-14: American Public Health Association, APHA 2018 EXPO, San Diego
November 12: World Pneumonia Day
November 12-15: Fifth International Conference on Family Planning, Kigali, Rwanda
November 14: World Diabetes Day
November 19: World Toilet Day
November 19-21: CSIH and CanWaCH, Canadian Conference on Global Health: Fragile environments and Global Health: Examining drivers of change, Toronto
November 20: Universal Children’s Day
December 5-6: Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Children’s Health, 2018 Partners Forum, New Delhi
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