On April 21st, 2023, our Executive Director, Chris Thompson joined MP Shaun Chen; Chenai Kadungure (Executive Director of Black Physicians Association of Ontario, BPAO), and Dr. Neil (BPAO Board Member and Black Creek Clinic Lead) to officially announce that the Public Health Agency of Canada invested over $286,000 through the Immunization Partnership Fund.
Of that fund, the FBC received $100,000 to deliver its project, entitled: COVID-19 Conversations with the Black Community. The goal was to create safe spaces for open dialogue, interrupt misinformation, increase vaccine knowledge, and connect black health workers with the community. FBC also provided 5 community groups with Micro-Contributions between $1000-$3000 to support and empower them to engage their unique community in a way that worked for them. By the end of the project, we were able to reach approximately 60,000 users across Canada, hold an online event with over 80 in attendance and engage over 50 people to participate in focus groups for our surveys. The groups we engaged for this project were Restore International, Jaku Konbit, Racialized Students in Healthcare, African Youth Growth Foundation, and Saskatchewan African Canadian Heritage Museum.
To learn more about the objectives of the Immunization Partnership Fund as well as the outcome of the project, please visit our website.