When Women’s Health Collective Canada (WHCC) was founded in 2020 by Women’s College Hospital Foundation (WCHF), BC Women’s Health Foundation and Alberta Women’s Health Foundation, it centred around one core premise: to ensure that Canadian healthcare is more inclusive and intentional about addressing the needs of women.
Too often, women in Canada are misdiagnosed, neglected and dismissed as complainers or told their symptoms are all in their heads by their healthcare providers.
If you assess women’s health based on longevity alone, women in Canada appear to be faring well. Life expectancy for a Canadian woman today is 84 years, compared with 80 for men. But merely being alive is a far throw from being able to access life-sustaining, necessary care when and where it’s needed.
WHCC aims to change this – for good. As the first alliance between women’s health foundations across Canada, their goal is to eliminate inequities by raising awareness about the specific health needs of women throughout their lives and increasing fundraising dollars directed specifically to women’s health and research.
This powerful partnership allows WCHF to access resources and funding to address wider gaps in care across the country that we can’t tackle on our own. This past year, thanks to the generosity of Shoppers Drug Mart®, WHCC has been able to move the dial towards a more equitable healthcare system for all through their corporate philanthropy and their December LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart® campaign in support of women’s health.
The campaign was a true testament not only to the determination and commitment of Shoppers Drug Mart®, but to the people of Ontario, who gave over $200,000 in support of WCHF through WHCC at self-checkout locations across the province. This was part of a national campaign that raised $600,000 in total.
“We’re delighted to help build awareness of WHCC and how it is positively impacting women’s health initiatives in Canada,” said Paulette Minard, Director of Community Investment, Shoppers Drug Mart®. “Aligning ourselves with such a dedicated and purposeful organization is part of our mission to change the way women and marginalized community members access healthcare.”
Thank you, Women’s Health Collective Canada and Shoppers Drug Mart®, for your unwavering support of women’s health and the future of equitable healthcare!
