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:

Funding to health authorities

Following the conclusion of program funding in March 2022, Health Canada had invested approximately $3.5 million in partnership with 10 health authorities across 5 provinces and territories. The funding supported their climate change and health efforts. Each health authority received between $250,000 - $800,000 over 3 three years to address climate-driven health risks.

Figure 1. Map of the 10 HealthADAPT funded projects
A map of Canada showing the locations of the 10 HealthADAPT funded projects.
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 Quebec, Quebec
  • Centre intégré de Santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de Chaudière-Appalaches located in Sainte-Marie, Quebec
  • Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de l'Outaouais located in Gatineau, Quebec
  • Northwestern Health Unit located in Kenora, Ontario
  • York Region Public Health located in Newmarket, Ontario
  • Wellington-Dufferin Guelph Public Health located in Guelph, Ontario/Region of Waterloo Public Health located in Waterloo, Ontario
  • First Nations Health Authority located in West Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Vancouver Coastal Health located in Vancouver, British Columbia/Fraser Health Authority located in Surrey, 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, and 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: $264,615

Purpose: Conduct climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments for each health unit within Northern Ontario on a broad range of issues

Main output:

Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health and Region of Waterloo 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: $286,000

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

Main outputs:

Available on both public health websites:

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: $257,244

Purpose: Conduct a climate change and health vulnerability assessment informed by extensive engagement with communities and Indigenous Peoples, and based on health system needs

Main outputs:

(Release date pending)

(Not available – internal working document)

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: $217,158

Purpose: Conduct climate change and health vulnerability assessments in 2 pilot communities (urban and rural) and develop health adaptation plans to address priority risks

Main outputs:

Institut national de santé publique du Québec

Project title: Regional climate change vulnerability assessment and design of regional public health climate adaptation plans (VRAC-PARC)

Funding amount: $772,383

Purpose: Conduct a multi-hazard regional assessment of population vulnerability to climate change in each of Québec's health regions; develop a regional public health adaptation plan to the changing climate, including proposals for measures to be implemented by public health, the health network and its regional partners (e.g., municipalities, community organizations) in each of Québec's health regions; strengthen collaboration within and outside of public health and the health and social services network more broadly in order to promote mutuality between regional actions to combat climate change; raise awareness among regional stakeholders of the health effects of the changing climate, as well as the role of the health and social services network in the fight against climate change; and support regional partners to reduce health impacts related to the changing climate, especially those on the most vulnerable populations.

Main outputs: Visit the VRAC-PARC website.

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: $423,341

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

Main outputs:

(Not available – internal working documents)

Project information available on CISSSOFIL (French only)

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

Main outputs:

(Release date pending)

(Not available – internal working document)

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: $366,038

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

Main outputs: (Not available)

York Region Public Health

Project title: Bridging the Gap: Engaging York Region Residents and Stakeholders to Build Climate-Resilient Communities

Funding amount: $218,047

Purpose: Build off the climate change and health vulnerability assessment to collect information on a broad range of risks from residents, health decision makers, municipalities and other stakeholders in order to guide adaptation planning

Main outputs:

(Not available – internal working documents)

Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health Authority

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: $411,652

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

Main outputs:

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:

Experts from Health Canada and other organizations give:

If you are a health partner interested in joining the HealthADAPT group on GCcollab, email us at climate.health.adaptation-adaptation.climat.sante@hc-sc.gc.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:

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: climate.health.adaptation-adaptation.climat.sante@hc-sc.gc.ca

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