The WCHC Hub (Women-Centred HIV Care) is a feminist community-based research network that challenges misogyny, patriarchy, and historical colonialism to allow all women and gender diverse people living with and affected by HIV to reach their full potential via appropriately gendered care, knowledge mobilization (KM) and learning.
The WCHC Hub hopes to impact the current state of HIV care and understanding by 1) uniting a network of diverse, national stakeholders & experts in the field of women and HIV/STBBIs to strengthen the uptake of the WCHC model, 2) enhancing health outcomes, eliminating gaps, and improving the quality of healthcare for women with and affected by HIV/STBBIs, and 3) cultivating knowledge sharing, education, mentoring, and capacity building in women and HIV/STBBI research, policy and care! The WCHC Hub hopes that, with these frameworks guiding our work, it will help us create a better future for women and gender diverse people living with HIV in Canada by closing gaps in current care and knowledge to improve health outcomes.
Hub Elder: Sheila Nyman
We have an Elder who was gifted tobacco in 2022 and accepted to be our Elder. Sheila (she/they) carries the name of her four-times great grandmother which was given to her by her great Auntie Doll. She is a Two-Spirit mixed Syilx member of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band in the Okanagan of British Columbia. As a 60s Scoop survivor she has received teachings, initiations and been granted permissions to conduct ceremonies and traditional healing. She has worked alongside her “Elder Many Buffalo Running” since the early 90’s conducting Ceremony, Sweat Lodge and has become a respected holder of MoonLodge and Teachings for LifeGivers. Sheila holds space as an Elder in Residence with McMasters Feast Center, CIHR IGH, NWAC program delivery, BCADH and others thereby integrating her Masters Degree in Social Work training.
Quad Leadership Team
Our hub decided to go to a Quad Leadership Team rather than a Tripartite and added a Community Member. The Quad Leadership Team is a team of four co-investigators who guide the overarching direction of the WCHC Hub and its activities. The team is made up of a community member, researcher, clinician, and community-based organization (CBO) representative.
Mona Loutfy (she/they)
Dr. Loutfy is the Nominated Principal Applicant of the WCHC Hub and is the researcher on the Quad Leadership Team. She a recognized leader in Women’s Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and HIV. She is a Professor at the University of Toronto and a Senior Clinician Scientist at Women’s College Hospital, where she founded the Women and HIV Research Program in 2007. Dr. Loutfy was one of the Principal Investigators of the Canadian Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS) and she led the development of the original Canadian HIV Pregnancy Planning Guidelines (CHPPGs) with its third update currently in development. With decades of experience in research program administration, she recently secured a CIHR grant to develop the Women-Centred HIV Care (WCHC) Hub, focused on knowledge mobilization, as well as training and mentoring the next generation of researchers and community leaders. Beyond her academic positions, Dr. Loutfy conducts clinics in Toronto and Prince Albert as an Infectious Diseases Specialist, with a dedicated focus on marginalized populations.
Folasade Olaniyan (she/her)
Folasade Olaniyan is a dynamic and dedicated professional with extensive experience in Community-Based Research. She is serving on the WCHC Quad Leadership Team as Co-Lead and Community Lead (Women’s College Hospital, ON) and works as a research assistant at Toronto Metropolitan University, ON. Known for her exceptional skills in group facilitation, public speaking, and peer education and mentoring, Folasade consistently demonstrates a strong commitment to excellence and equity. Her ability to navigate complex challenges and deliver outstanding results has earned her a reputation as a reliable and efficient leader. Additionally, she is passionate about advocacy and stigma reduction, making her a well-rounded and inspiring individual.
Melanie Murray (she/her)
Dr. Melanie Murray is the Clinician on the Quad Leadership Team and is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. She is also an infectious disease specialist in HIV care at BC Women’s Oak Tree Clinic, and an Infectious Diseases Specialist and Staff Physician at St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver. She earned a Bachelor’s in science, as well as a medical degree and a PhD at the University of Manitoba in Microbiology. She completed an infectious disease fellowship and an internal medicine residency at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests include HIV and women, the role of hormones in HIV and aging, viral co-infection, and strategies for the engagement of marginalized populations. In the WCHC Hub, Dr. Murray serves as a co-chair on the Quad Leadership Team, bringing a clinical perspective to the Hub’s major operations, while also co-leading the BC Sub-Hub.
Wangari Tharao (she/her)
Wangari Tharao is representing the Community-based Organization on the Leadership Team. Wangari is the Director of Research and Programs at Women’s Health in Women’s Hands, as well as a recognized community-based researcher. Her work centres on health and HIV issues relevant to women living in Canada who have migrated from countries with generalized HIV epidemics, especially Africa and the Caribbean. Wangari is also a recognized HIV/health advocate and has co-founded several local, provincial, national and international networks to support the development of effective responses to HIV and AIDS to support ACB women, including The African and Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario (ACCHO); The Canadian HIV/AIDS African, Black and Caribbean (CHABAC) Network; and the African and Black Diaspora Global Network on HIV and AIDS (ABDGN). From 2018-2020, Wangari served as one of the two North American representatives on the NGO Delegation of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB). Alongside her work with the WCHC Hub, Wangari is currently serving as a member of the Black Expert Working Group whose aim is to provide advice to the Canadian National HIV/AIDS Surveillance System on the collection of comprehensive race-disaggregated data and rebuilding of trust.
Community partners and their role in the Hub
The WCHC Hub’s activities are centred around community-based research and action, most notably led through the efforts of the ‘‘Women’s Community Leadership Team’ (WCLT). The WCLT is made up of women and gender diverse people who have lived experience with HIV. In the spirit of “nothing about us, without us,” community members are at the heart of all WCHC Hub operations, providing consultations, sharing their expertise, and guiding the Hub to work with and for the community.
The WCHC Hub is also supported by and works with several community-based organizations across the country, including Women’s Health In Women’s Hands (WHIWH), the AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT), HIV Edmonton, Ribbon Community (formerly HIV Vancouver), Elevate NWO, the AIDS Committee of Ottawa (ACO), Women and HIV/AIDS Initiative (WHAI), Africans in Partnership Against AIDS (APAA), SafeLink, Ribbon Rouge Foundation, Casey House, the Réseau Access Network, the Manitoba HIV Program, the Manitoba HIV-STBBI Collective Impact Network, Afro-Canadian Positive Network of BC, Central Interior Native Health Society, the Nine Circles Community Health Centre, Taibu Community Health Centre, Westside Community Clinic.
We also partner with several academic and research institutions, including the Women HIV and Health Research Program at Women’s College Hospital, the University of Regina, the University of Manitoba, the University of Toronto, and the University of British Columbia.
What activities are you undertaking?
Between the WCHC Hub’s central team, its community-led “Women’s Community Leadership Team,” and its several sub-hubs – smaller groups operating on a regional or population-specific level – the WCHC Hub conducts a range of activities, from research and knowledge generation, to harm reduction, early-career training, knowledge dissemination, and community engagement with women and gender diverse people living with HIV in Canada. One of our key recurring activities are the “WCHC Hub Knowledge Mobilization (KM) Events,” which are events hosted by Hub members to share experiences, support communities, critically examine frameworks and values, and learn more about HIV and sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI) care from the lens of the WCHC model. In the summer 2024, the WCHC Hub also launched their website and on social media across Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, engaging a wider audience of community members, researchers, care providers, and other advocates in the field of women, HIV, and health.
How would you describe the objective(s) of your Hub in the simplest terms?
The events, partnerships and research initiatives led by the WCHC Hub are guided by 5 primary objectives, including 1) the development of a women-centred HIV care curriculum, 2) hosting WCHC Hub knowledge mobilization events 3) the creation of a centralized repository of resources relating to women, HIV, and health, 4) training and mentoring the next generation of HIV researchers and advocates, and 5) engaging community partners for the sustainability of the WCHC model and curriculum. These objectives share the common goal of helping us build a future where women and gender diverse people living with HIV, or other STBBIs, in Canada, see greater health outcomes, quality of life, and overall well being.
Learn more and view our newsletters and events
Website: wchchub.ca
View our newsletters: wchchub.ca/news-and-media
Subscribe to our newsletter: https://gmail.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=fca3dafe6ebd840adeca1dd21&id=6150f61944 OR https://shorturl.at/rrV7X
View our event updates: wchchub.ca/events
Connect with us on social media
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wchc_hub | @wchc_hub
Facebook: https://shorturl.at/NddOq | “Wchc Hub”
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wchc-hub/ | “WCHC Hub”
Youtube: www.youtube.com/@wchchub | @wchchub
Hashtags: #wchc #womenandhiv #hivandhealth #womenshealth
Media
June 2024 Hub Update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB5uJCEj3mQ
Newsletter (April 2024): https://www.chiwos.ca/_files/ugd/54ef62_6f5b850f10fa4e229b0659c86f8c8a46.pdf OR https://shorturl.at/FprHE
Newsletter (June 2024): https://mailchi.mp/4ba973a23348/june-newsletter-wchc-hub OR https://shorturl.at/yRE2s
Newsletter (August 2024): https://mailchi.mp/096a7c43e321/june-newsletter-wchc-hub-14175597?e=3ec465acc3 OR https://shorturl.at/BcduS
Newsletter Sign-Up: https://gmail.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=fca3dafe6ebd840adeca1dd21&id=6150f61944 OR https://shorturl.at/rrV7X
Contact information
The best way to reach the WCHC Hub is to contact the appropriate coordinator:
Please visit www.wchchub.ca/contact-us for more information on each of our coordinators or reach out to our Central Coordinator, Logan Kennedy, at [email protected]
For social media-related inquiries, such as reposting materials, you may also reach us at the WCHC Hub’s Instagram at www.instagram.com/wchc_hub.
