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After an incredible nine years of leadership and growth, we announce that our CEO, Julia Anderson, will be stepping down from her position, effective May 2, 2025. 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.
On Friday, March 7, the Government of Canada renewed its commitment to global immunization with a $675 million pledge to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. CanWaCH was pleased to celebrate this announcement in Toronto alongside Dr. Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, leaders in the sector, grassroots advocates and several CanWaCH members and partners. Co-hosted with Global Affairs Canada, Global Citizen, ONE Canada and Results Canada, speakers at the special event reflected on the power of immunization to advance women’s health and equality.
Following the event, CanWaCH CEO Julia Anderson spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alongside colleagues from Gavi, Global Citizen, ONE and Results Canada. On one of his final days in office, it was inspiring to see the Prime Minister make time to reflect on this investment and Canada’s role as a leader in global health. With Canada’s investment, millions more women and girls will be protected from deadly diseases like malaria and cervical cancer, health systems will be strengthened, and global health security will be bolstered.
From the Muskoka Initiative to the current 10-year commitment to global health and rights, Canada has been a consistent and important global actor in supporting the health and rights of women and children.
Our new resource provides a visual representation of how funding was disbursed, year-on-year comparisons and total health investments including additional COVID-19 response funding.
CanWaCH is thrilled to announce the next offering of our virtual gender equality training sessions! This training is designed to build the confidence and capacity of the CanWaCH membership in delivering gender transformative health programming. Through a series of three modules, delivered across five sessions, participants will learn how to integrate gender transformative approaches into their work. Sessions begin Monday, March 24.
*Please note that this is the English offering of our gender equality training. Space is limited to 25 participants. At this time, only 2 people per organization can register.
CanWaCH is 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.
As we reflect on International Women’s Day, and its “Accelerate Action” theme, we’re excited to highlight the efforts of the Pan-Canadian Women’s Health Coalition! Composed of 10 hubs across Canada, the Coalition aims to address persistent gaps and under-researched areas in women’s health.
Hubs are led by diverse teams working towards several objectives. They include improving women’s cardiovascular health, eliminating gaps to health care for women and gender diverse people living with and affected by HIV and increasing the socio-health outcomes for Inuit women, children and families.
At a time of increasing global uncertainty, Canada’s commitment to fighting inequality and supporting the rights of women and girls is more important than ever. A new campaign, #AidWorks, is sharing stories from people in Canada on how aid has an impact. Whether you’re a professional in the international development sector, a volunteer, or someone who believes in global solidarity, your voice is crucial in this conversation.
On April 28 and April 30, join CanWaCH for a two-part virtual training on the inclusion of women and girls with disabilities into health and gender equality programming. The training will introduce participants to disability-inclusive programming elements in practice. It also features opportunities for experiential group work , feedback from course trainers and more.
Please note that the training will be delivered in English only. At this time, space is limited to 30 participants and only 2 people per organization can register. Please only register if you can attend both days of the training.
Whether due to conflicts, economic and political instability, public health emergencies, or climate-induced disasters, fragile contexts significantly increase the risk of sexual and gender based violence.
In a new brief, members of the CanWaCH Gender Equality Working Group (GEWG) highlight the urgency and unique challenges of preventing and addressing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in fragile and humanitarian settings.
Led by Grand Challenges Canada, Science for Africa Foundation, the Geneva Learning Foundation and the Global Grand Challenges Network, the climate and health survey is a global initiative seeking insights on the most pressing climate and health challenges.
If you haven’t participated yet, now is the time. The survey closes on March 23 and your input will directly shape funding and innovative solutions for climate and health challenges. The survey is available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Simplified Chinese to ensure broad accessibility.
Announcement: CEO Departure, CanWaCH
CanWaCH applauds Canada’s continued leadership in global immunization, CanWaCH
East and Southeast Asian women are being erased from the SRHR conversation, Leisha Toory via Write to Thrive
Sowing seeds, Reaping hopes: Transforming lives in Somalia, Human Concern International via Write to Thrive
A Canadian response to a global health crisis, Partners in Health Canada
Beseya Blon: A commitment to health, hygiene and collective strength, One Drop Foundation
Global citizens fighting the threat to girls’ rights worldwide, Plan International Canada
The unfair ways climate change affects girls and women, Plan International Canada
Event highlight: On April 14-15, 2025, Ottawa will host the C7 Summit, a key platform for global civil society to engage with G7 governments. As part of Canada’s G7 presidency, Cooperation Canada is leading the Civil 7 (C7) engagement group to bring forward civil society’s priorities. At the summit, civil society organizations from around the world will collaborate to present coordinated policy recommendations on pressing global issues, ensuring their voices are heard in key political discussions. Stay up to date with the latest developments here.
Ongoing until March 23, Mobilizing One Health Course
March 13, CSW Parallel Event: Educating women and girls: Advancing their empowerment and equality
March 14, NGOCSW69 Powerful Yet Overlooked: African Women, diversity and inclusion in Beijing +30
March 15, Global perspectives in the classroom: Cultivating global citizenship
March 26, Breaking barriers: Elevating women’s health in Canada
March 26 to 27, Humanitarian networks and partnerships week 2025
April 9, Reimagining resourcing for social transformation
April 10, Global Health Conference 2025
May 1 to 4, ConnectHer: Building bridges for working women across Canada
Indigenous Water Allyship (IWA) Program Lead, One Drop Foundation. Application deadline: March 20
MERL Manager (Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning), One Drop Foundation. Application deadline: March 20
2025 Canadian Conference on Global Health – Call for Abstracts, Canadian Association for Global Health. Application deadline: March 21
Call for proposals: Design Study Indigenous Water Allyship, One Drop Foundation. Application deadline: March 30
Project manager, HealthBridge. Application deadline: April 2
Curriculum and Communications Officer, Indigenous Programs, Right to Play. Application deadline: Open until filled
Payroll and Accounting specialist, Canadian Feed the Children. Application deadline: Open until filled
Professorship, Global Child Health – BC Children’s Hospital & UBC, BC Children’s Hospital. Application deadline: Open until filled
Seasonal Fundraising Contractor (Edmonton), Human Concern International. Application deadline: Open until filled
Fundraising Officer (Edmonton), Human Concern International. Application deadline: Open until filled
Fundraising Officer (Halifax), Human Concern International. Application deadline: Open until filled
IT Security Analyst, Human Concern International. Application deadline: Open until filled
Seasonal Fundraising Contractor, Human Concern International. Application deadline: Open until filled
Senior Manager, Strategic Partnership Development – Indigenous Water Allyship, One Drop Foundation. Application deadline: Open until filled
Have an opportunity that you would like to share with us? Please contact us at [email protected].
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