Sexual and Reproductive Health Fund

On this page

• Sexual and reproductive health
• Sexual and reproductive health services
• About the Sexual and Reproductive Health Fund
• Funded projects

Sexual and reproductive health

Health Canada relies on this broad definition from the World Health Organization:

"Sexual health is an integral part of overall health, well-being and quality of life. It is a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality, and not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity."

Sexual and reproductive health services

Examples of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services include:

• family planning, contraception, fertility care and abortion care
• prenatal and postnatal care
• care of sexual and reproductive organ systems, such as:
  • testing for and treating cancers of reproductive organs
  • managing pain related to sexual and reproductive organs (such as dysmenorrhea and endometriosis)
• transition-related care for trans and non-binary people that acts on sexual or reproductive organs, such as hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and surgeries on breasts, chests, genitals or gonads
• care that respects and promotes the bodily integrity of intersex people
• prevention, screening, testing, treatment, care and support for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as HIV and syphilis
• health promotion and comprehensive SRH education
• culturally safe and relevant services that recognize different ways of understanding bodies, behaviours and choices

About the Sexual and Reproductive Health Fund

Some under-served communities have faced discrimination from the health care system that is meant to help them. Barriers and challenges remain because of unequal access to SRH services.

The Sexual and Reproductive Health Fund (SRHF) aims to strengthen the healthcare system and related supports for under-served community members. It was established with a $45 million investment in the 2021 budget. It was renewed with another $36 million investment in the 2023 budget. This is a total investment of $81 million between 2021 and 2027.

What the fund does

The fund supports community-based organizations that improve access to abortion and other SRH care for under-served communities. These under-served communities include people who are:

• Indigenous
• racialized
• 2SLGBTQI+
• newcomers (migrants and immigrants)
• women and youth from other under-served communities (for example, from rural or remote communities, or living in poverty)
• living with disabilities (including chronic pain and other chronic health conditions)

Activities supported by the fund

The fund supports projects that aim to reach and support:

• people seeking abortion services
  • projects provide logistical support, including help with costs such as transportation, accommodation and meals
• healthcare providers
  • projects develop leading practices, training resources and materials to help healthcare providers deliver culturally relevant and safe SRH care
• under-served communities
  • projects develop tools and resources (including information, training and peer supports) and public awareness activities to help specific populations understand SRH issues and access SRH care
• all communities
  • projects increase knowledge and awareness of SRH topics, supports and resources and help people use them

Activities not supported by the fund

The fund will not support:

• initiatives that oppose freedom of choice or attempt to override a person's right to make decisions about their own body
• activities that fall within an area of provincial and territorial responsibility, such as the delivery of health care services (for example, the costs of an abortion procedure or fertility treatment) and certain types of curriculum development or training

Measuring results

The fund measures results using short, medium and long-term goals.

Short-term goals

• Under-served communities will have access to SRH learning resources to make informed decisions about their health
• Pregnant people of all gender identities will be aware of resources to support travel and logistics for abortion services
• Healthcare providers will have access to SRH care learning resources to address under-served communities
• Health decision-makers will have access to population-specific SRH policy, research, data and literature

Medium-term goals

• Under-served communities will gain knowledge about SRH care options
• Pregnant people will be able to use community-based organization support for abortion-related information services
• Healthcare providers will have the knowledge to deliver inclusive SRH care

Long-term goals

• People who face the greatest barriers to SRH care will receive the SRH services they need

Currently funded organizations and projects

Project: Access for all
Organization: Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights

This project is an extension of Action Canada's already existing Access Line. It provides financial and logistical support for people who must travel for abortion services, including those facing complex barriers to care. It develops longer-term strategies to improve access to abortion and sexual health information and communications tools to connect more people to reliable SRH information and referrals.

Project: Increasing access to SRH information, resources and care for under-served communities
Organization: Centre for Sexuality

This project allows the Centre for Sexuality to add an online component to their Relationship and Sexual Health Education program. It also supports content development for the particular SRH needs of First Nations youth and youth with developmental disabilities. Through these training resources and materials for healthcare providers, the needs of under-served communities are better met. This includes 2SLGBTQI+ youth, First Nations youth and their communities, and persons with developmental disabilities. In partnership with 2 First Nations communities in Treaty 7 territory, this project will incorporate First Nations traditions, ways of knowing and community needs.

Project: The CART access project
Organization: Contraception and Abortion Research Team (CART)

This project addresses barriers to abortion information, access and care needs for under-served communities in Canada. It improves abortion care by working with organizations to create training resources and materials for healthcare professionals and patients. It also develops resources for under-served communities. University of British Columbia (UBC)-CART hosted a national meeting to develop a strategy for improving access to abortion for these communities.

Project: Expanding access to abortion care: Healthcare professional education and training
Organization: National Abortion Federation Canada (NAF Canada)

This project helps ensure abortion facilities have the capacity to continue providing abortions and related care by developing training resources for healthcare professionals and organizations that work with people who can get pregnant. NAF Canada also provides financial and logistical support to people travelling for abortion services.

Project: FORWARD: IBPOC midwives leading for better health systems
Organization: National Council of Indigenous Midwives (NCIM) via Canadian Association of Midwives (CAM)

This project improves SRH services and reduces barriers for Indigenous, Black, and people of colour (IBPOC), and immigrant women. It does so by developing training and resources for healthcare providers to support the SRH rights of these under-served communities. This includes informing Indigenous people, communities, and Nations about their rights to Indigenous midwifery and care that is anti-racist and culturally safe. The project is also developing resources to help people make decisions about their own SRH care.

Project: Gender-affirming sexual and reproductive health resources for healthcare providers and Two-Spirit, trans and non-binary (TTNB) Canadians
Organization: Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) Trans Care BC

This project addresses barriers to SRH care for TTNB people by developing innovative and intersectional online training modules with accompanying practice tools and client resources in 3 key areas:

• sexual health promotion and harm reduction
• sexual desire, function, fertility and perinatal care
• gender-affirming post-operative care

Project: Sexual health promotion for autistic and disabled youth
Organization: Sex Information and Education Council of Canada (SIECCAN)

This project is developing 2 toolkits to improve SRH promotion for people with disabilities. One toolkit focuses on youth with autism, and the other on youth with physical disabilities. Each toolkit includes a policy document, a healthcare provider training guide, and educational materials for youth with disabilities, their families and supporters.

Project: Building bridges to equity and equality: Creating Canadian capacity in SRH
Organization: Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC)

This project raises awareness on endometriosis care through the development and distribution of educational resources. It also supports under-served patient populations, including Indigenous, racialized and 2SLGBTQI+ people, by improving access to health resources through their website Sex & U.ca.

Project: Decreasing the delay to diagnosis: Endometriosis awareness and education
Organization: The Endometriosis Network Canada (TENC)

This project supports the development of patient-focused educational resources for people living with endometriosis. Key resources specific to patients and youth are being co-developed with healthcare providers. The project is helping raise public awareness of endometriosis through a targeted national marketing campaign.

Completed projects

These projects were previously funded by the Sexual and Reproductive Health Fund. They are not currently receiving funding.

Project: Sexual health education and care for newcomers in Newfoundland and Labrador
Organization: Association for New Canadians (ANC)

This project engaged newcomers and other under-served communities and community partners in Newfoundland and Labrador to develop SRH information for newcomers. It included training workshops, tools and culturally informed community presentations for under-served communities, their healthcare providers and policymakers. Newcomers were offered services in the language of their choice.

Project: Not just the tip
Organization: Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity (CCGSD)

This project developed educational resources and tools for 2SLGBTQI+inclusive SRH education in Regina, Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax and St. Johns. It developed a curriculum to educate teachers and health and social service providers about 2SLGBTQI+ youth. The project increased their capacity to support 2SLGBTQI+ and other marginalized people.

Project: Promoting Black sexual and reproductive health
Organization: Canadian HIV/AIDS Black, African and Caribbean Network (CHABAC) via HIV Edmonton

This national project leveraged previous work to address anti-Black racism and SRH care needs in Black, African, and Caribbean communities. It improved access to SRH services by developing training tools and resources for healthcare providers in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. It also developed a SRH awareness campaign, and a helpline to assist Black, African and Caribbean communities navigate SRH concerns, resources and services.

Project: Community health leadership for 2SLGBTQI+ sexual and reproductive health
Organization: Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC)

This project worked with 6 regional partner organizations in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador to:

• build capacity for service providers
• enhance SHR community leadership programs
• develop health promotion resources for 2SLGBTQI+ communities

Project: Online intersex community hub
Organization: Egale Canada

This project had 2 components. The first component developed training for healthcare providers. This training helped providers work towards patient-oriented care for intersex infants, children and their parents and guardians. The second component developed peer support and resources for people who are intersex, and for parents and guardians of intersex infants and children.

Project: Métis women's voices in SRH and cervical cancer prevention project
Organization: Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak (LFMO)

This project identifies barriers for Métis women and 2SLGBTQI+ communities in accessing SRH services. It's conducting an environmental scan of existing gaps, and developing tools and resources to address them. Information collected is shared with Métis governments, healthcare providers and leaders. This supports trauma-informed SRH care and establishes a foundation for ongoing care and support.

Project: Supporting culturally safe and trauma-informed SRH care for Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, transgender and gender-diverse people
Organization: Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC)

This project identified and filled information gaps to address barriers for Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, transgender and gender-diverse people accessing sexual and reproductive resources. The project developed culturally safe and trauma-informed training tools and resources for healthcare providers working with these communities.

Project: Reproductive, sexual and gender health and care: Anti-Indigenous racism and Indigenous youth wellness
Organization: Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) Indigenous Health

This project supported Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities by expanding educational materials for the Indigenous-led San'yas program and Indigenous youth wellness programs. These materials helped enhance cultural safety and inclusion when accessing services and programming related to gender and SRH.

Project: Sexual, gender and reproductive health registry and warmline for Nova Scotia
Organization: Sexual Health Nova Scotia

This project created a virtual provincial database of service providers (SUGAR Health). It facilitated linkages to sexual, gender, and reproductive healthcare (SGRH) and built primary healthcare provider capacity on these services. This project improved connections to SGRH for under-served communities, including women, 2SLGBTQI+ communities, Indigenous people, Black and racialized communities.

Project: Learning management system and resource development project
Organization: Sexuality Education Resource Centre (SERC)

This project improved access to SRH services in Manitoba by expanding current educational offerings on sexual health, pregnancy, safer sex and relationships. It also developed culturally safer, bilingual tools and trainings to support learning for healthcare providers and under-served communities. This included newcomers, 2SLGBTQI+ populations, and youth and their caregivers. The project created diverse and affirming tools for teaching about reproductive organ systems, and a promotional campaign to improve access to SRH information.

Project: Improving the quality and access of SRH care for 2SLGBTQI+ people
Organization: Sherbourne Health

This project developed peer-reviewed and evidence-based education, training, and resources for healthcare providers about SRH care for 2SLGBTQI+ people. The project focused on family planning, pregnancy considerations, parenthood, postpartum and newborn care, as well as general sexual health and wellness. With these resources, healthcare providers could provide safe and accurate information to their 2SLGBTQI+ clients.