Addressing COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed deep social and health inequities experienced by many segments of our population. Community Health Centres (CHCs) across Canada have risen to meet these challenges head on through a wide range of health and social supports. As part of these efforts, CHCs across the country have collaborated with the Canadian Association of Community Health Centres (CACHC) on several national-scale initiatives, including our CVP-National Project and TD Bank Ready Commitment Project, detailed further below.

Through funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada under its Immunization Partnership Fund, CACHC launched the CVP-National Project in early 2021. The project rolled out in two phases: Phase 1 (June 2021 to September 2022) and Phase 2 (October 2022 to March 2023).

In Phase 1, CACHC was one of five CVP projects working with Community Health Centres across Canada to improve COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake among marginalized communities. The other four CVP projects (CVP-BC, CVP-MB, CVP-NS, CVP-ON) were led by the provincial Community Health Centre associations in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. Together, the five CVP projects advanced service delivery, knowledge-exchange, and resource development to improve COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake. This included small grant funding to many CHCs across the country to directly support their COVID-19 vaccine promotion, education and delivery efforts.

In Phase 2, CACHC received additional funding from PHAC to expand efforts at CHCs across Canada with emphasis on improving uptake of COVID-19 booster vaccines. CACHC provided small grants to an expanded cohort of CHCs across the country.

The CVP-National project has made a significant contribution to Canada’s cross-country vaccination efforts and has resulted in numerous outcomes that will have an enduring impact in improving health and access to appropriate, evidence-informed healthcare services, especially for vulnerable and marginalized members of communities. This includes: collection and dissemination of best practices and tools related to promotion of vaccination for/with diverse marginalized groups; development of ongoing CHC-based communities of practice across Canada; and, establishment of a National Resources Hub for Community Health Centres.

CVP-National Project Team:

• Iwo Effiong – Project Manager: ieffiong@cachc.ca
• Ayesha Khan – Project KT Specialist: akhan@cachc.ca
• Dipal Damani – Project Evaluation Consultant
• Dr. Ilene Hyman – Project Research Collaborator

2023

• Final Statement and Acknowledgements from CVP Projects
• CVP-National Project- Impact at a Glance
• CVP-National Project Summary Report (2021 – 2023)
• CVP-National Project Phase 2 Learnings Report
• CVP-National Project Poster Presentation

2022

• COVID-19 Promotion & Provision Across Canada: CHC Case Studies Collection
• COVID-19 Promotion & Provision Across Canada: Promising Practices from CHCs
• CACHC COVID-19 Social Media Communications Toolkit
• COVID-19 Booster Vaccines: Report on Needs Assessment from CHCs
• Community Vaccination Promotion Projects – CVP Project Updates

2021

• Community Health Centres and COVID-19: Impact and Experiences from Year-One of the Pandemic
• COVID-19 Pediatric Vaccine Townhall: Slides
• Community Vaccination Promotion Projects – Media Release

#CVPNational Social Media

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When public health emergencies or natural disasters arise, Community Health Centres across Canada have proven their capacity to adapt quickly, and to identify and meet a wide range of health and social support needs in the local community. Some of the most significant examples of this critical role for CHCs have been seen during the SARS outbreak in 2003; the Calgary floods of 2013; the Eastern Ontario / Western Quebec ice storms of 1998, 2013 and 2021; and, most recently, during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

At the very outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020, TD Bank’s Ready Commitment recognized this unique role played by CHCs and provided funding for CACHC to help mobilize CHC responses across Canada as well as to the U.S. National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) for similar efforts in the United States. The CACHC-coordinated response across Canada included:

• Distribution by CACHC of a total of $479,000 in small emergency grants to more than 100 CHCs across Canada, to implement a wide range of immediate support needs in local communities.
• Support to the Manitoba Association of Community Health (MACH) and Nova Scotia Association of Community Health Centres (NSACHC) to increase provincial capacity and CHC response coordination in those provinces.
• Funding several research and best practice initiatives across Canada related to CHCs’ COVID-19 efforts.
• Developing and distributing multi-media tools to build awareness and promote COVID-19 prevention and social support efforts across the country, particularly focused on the needs of vulnerable and marginalized individuals and communities.