National Women's Health Research Initiative
The National Women's Health Research Initiative (NWHRI) was designed to:
- Address under-researched and high-priority areas of women's health and help mobilize evidence to improve women's and gender-diverse people's care and health outcomes.
- Promote an intersectional lens to research and care to tackle persistent gaps for all women including for Indigenous, Black, and racialized women, women with disabilities, and members of Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and additional sexually and gender diverse (2SLGBTQI+) people and communities.
- Transform women's health research and practice in Canada by producing and implementing a community-based approach, committed to the principles of equity, diversity, inclusivity, and Indigenous Rights.
Women's Health
We recognize the term 'women's health' can mean different things to different people. For the purposes of the NWHRI, the use of this term reflects an evolving concept, broadly including the multidimensional concepts of sex and gender. It refers to physical, biological, reproductive, psychological, emotional, cultural, and spiritual health and wellness across the life-course in the context of the unique intersecting concerns related to our bodies, our minds, our roles, our social locations, and our identities.
The NWHRI goes beyond the sex and gender binary and welcomes the experiences and needs of all people who identify as a woman, girl, intersex, and/or an under-represented gender identity, including, but not limited to, Two-Spirit, trans, non-binary, gender fluid, and agender people.
NWHRI Investment
- The Government of Canada committed $20M over five years (2022-2027) in a National Women's Health Research Initiative (NWHRI) in Budget 2021 – A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth and Resilience. This amount includes $4M from Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE).
- The CIHR Institute of Gender and Health (IGH), Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addictions (INMHA), Institute of Infection and Immunity (III), Institute of Genetics (IG), and the Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) contributed additional support to increase the total investment.
- CIHR-IGH collaborates with Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) to lead this first-in-a generation federal investment in women's health research in Canada.
- NWHRI funding is fully allocated and ends in March 2027.
See Initiative Components for more information.
Information
Initiative Components
Learn more about the Initiative
News
Get the latest National Women's Health Research Initiative news
Funding
See the list of National Women's Health Research Initiative funding opportunities
Contact information
Telephone: 613-954-1968
Toll Free: 1-888-603-4178
Email: NWHRI-INRSF@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
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