HealthADAPT
HealthADAPT is a multi-year capacity-building program managed by Health Canada. The program supports the human health and well-being objectives of the Pan Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.
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Goals
The HealthADAPT program helps the health sector prepare for and respond to the impacts of climate change. Its objectives are to:
- increase understanding of climate change on:
- health systems
- the health of Canadians
- identify communities or people who are more at risk of experiencing negative health effects of climate change
- support developing, testing and carrying out local and regional climate change health adaptation plans with partners
- monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the climate change health adaptation plans
Funding to health authorities
Until March 31, 2022, we will be investing a total of up to $3.6 million in partnerships with 10 health authorities across 5 provinces and territories. The funding is to support their climate change and health efforts. Each health authority will receive up to $570,000 to address climate-driven health risks.
Figure 1 - Text description
The names of the HealthADAPT partners and their locations are:
- New Brunswick Department of Health located in Fredericton, New Brunswick
- Institut national de santé publique du Québec located in Québec, Québec
- Centre intégré de Santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de Chaudière-Appalaches located in Sainte-Marie, Québec
- Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de l'Outaouais located in Gatineau, Québec
- Northwestern Health Unit located in Kenora, Ontario
- York Region Public Health located in Newmarket, Ontario
- Wellington- Dufferin Guelph Public Health located in Guelph, Ontario
- First Nations Health Authority located in West Vancouver, British Columbia
- Vancouver Coastal Health located in Vancouver, British Columbia
- Northwest Territories Department of Health and Social Services located in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
The HealthADAPT projects represent the diversity across the country, including Indigenous people, urban, rural and coastal communities, as well as both official languages. The 10 HealthADAPT partners include:
Northwestern Health Unit
Project title: Climate Change and Health Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment for Northern Ontario Public Health Units
Funding amount: $351,550
Purpose: Conduct climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments for each health unit within Northern Ontario on a broad range of issues
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health
Project title: Climate Change and Health: Assessing vulnerabilities and adaptive capacity in the Region of Waterloo, the City of Guelph, the County of Wellington, and the County of Dufferin
Funding amount: $337,271
Purpose: Complete a climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessment on a broad range of risks for Waterloo Region, the City of Guelph, the County of Wellington, and the County of Dufferin
Department of Health and Social Services, Government of the Northwest Territories
Project title: Understanding Health Risks from Climate Change in the Northwest Territories and Building Local Capacity for Successful Adaptations
Funding amount: $300,000
Purpose: Conduct a climate change and health vulnerability assessment informed by extensive engagement with communities and Indigenous Peoples, and based on health system needs
New Brunswick Department of Health
Project title: Adapting to Climate Change in New Brunswick: Health Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessments with an Urban and Rural Perspective
Funding amount: $254,909
Purpose: Conduct climate change and health vulnerability assessments in 2 pilot communities (urban and rural) and develop health adaptation plans to address priority risks
Institut national de santé publique du Québec
Project title: Regional assessments: Vulnerabilities to climate change in public health and development of adaptation plans tailored to regional public health departments
Funding amount: $572,448
Purpose: Conduct regional assessments of population and public health vulnerabilities to natural hazards impacted by climate change in 13 participating regions and develop adaptation plans tailored to each region
Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de l'Outaouais
Project title: Prioritization of climate change adaptation measures for all facilities of the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de l'Outaouais
Funding amount: $424,260
Purpose: Increase CISSS resiliency to the effects of climate change by assessing the vulnerability of its health infrastructures and procedures during emergency situations, and identify and prioritize adaptation measures to address them
Centre intégré de Santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de Chaudière-Appalaches
Project title: Assessment and support of the capacity of health systems to prevent and limit negative impacts on the mental health and psychosocial well-being of individuals and populations exposed to extreme climate events (ECEs)
Funding amount: $324,900
Purpose: Assess and support the health systems capacity of 2 CISSS pilot regions (Chaudière-Appalaches and Bas-Saint-Laurent) to prevent the negative impacts on mental health and psychosocial well-being of populations exposed to extreme climate events
First Nations Health Authority
Project title: We All Take Care of the Harvest: Safe and Secure Harvesting of Marine Foods in the Context of Climate Change
Funding amount: $356,826
Purpose: Assess climate change impacts on Indigenous marine food safety and vulnerability of BC Coastal First Nations to develop local and Indigenous specific adaptation strategies
York Region Public Health
Project title: Bridging the Gap: Engaging York Region Residents and Stakeholders to Build Climate-Resilient Communities
Funding amount: $218,860
Purpose: Conduct a climate change and health vulnerability assessment on a broad range of risks and collect information from residents, health decision makers, municipalities and other stakeholders in order to guide adaptation planning
Vancouver Coastal Health
Project title: Together We Can: Population Health-Based Integrated Climate Change and Health Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Planning for Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health Authority
Funding amount: $441,253
Purpose: Complete an integrated health and climate change vulnerability assessment to develop a Climate Change and Health Adaptation Strategic Plan to ensure health care facilities are climate resilient.
Community of practice
In addition, HealthADAPT provides support to health authorities across the country through a community of practice (CoP), found on the GCcollab online sharing portal. This CoP is a national network where health partners collaborate and share best practices on climate change and health. It includes both:
- funded recipients
- other health partners across Canada
Experts from Health Canada and other organizations give:
- technical guidance
- support based on capacity gaps and needs
If you are a health partner interested in joining the HealthADAPT group on GCcollab, email us at hc.climate.health.adaptation-adaptation.climat.sante.sc@canada.ca.
Publications
As part of the support provided to HealthADAPT funding recipients and the CoP, Health Canada has developed guidance documents with key resources, tools and information on climate change and health that can guide project work. These include:
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Title: Climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments: A knowledge to action resource guide.
Overview: This report provides vulnerability and adaptation assessment guidance tools along with examples of completed Canadian assessment studies.
Purpose: This resource guide presents tools and information that can help inform the development of rigorous and participatory vulnerability and adaptation assessments from local to national levels in Canada.
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Title: Climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessment: Workbook for the Canadian health sector.
Overview: This workbook provides step-by-step information on how to conduct a climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessment in a manner that facilitates the inclusion of key partners from outside the health sector while maintaining a rigorous assessment process.
Purpose: This workbook helps develop capacity among Canadian health authorities to assess and adapt to the health impacts of climate change. The workbook also has fillable templates, which can be used as part of the assessment process or to help facilitate data gathering.
Contact us
Climate Change and Innovation Bureau
Safe Environments Directorate
Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch
Health Canada
269 Laurier West
Address Locator: 4909B
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0K9
Email: hc.climate.health.adaptation-adaptation.climat.sante.sc@canada.ca
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