FNHA’s Health Assessment Supports Program supports First Nations communities in British Columbia as they take part in project reviews and decision-making related to industrial and development activities.
The program provides support for Human Health Risk Assessment and Health Impact Assessment, including technical guidance, capacity building and funding for community-led health assessment work.
Through the program, communities can better understand, assess and respond to potential health impacts from major projects in their territories.
Health, environment and major projects
The health and wellbeing of First Nations communities is deeply connected to land, water and cultural practices.
Industrial and development projects, such as mines, energy developments, transportation corridors and other infrastructure, can affect these relationships in complex ways. Potential impacts may include changes to environmental conditions, access to traditional foods and lands and broader dimensions of health, including wholistic wellness.
Understanding these impacts requires approaches that bring together community knowledge, lived experience and technical assessment tools.
Program supports
Supports are provided at the request of communities and can be tailored to project-specific needs or broader capacity-building priorities.
FNHA may provide:
- Capacity supports to help communities understand Health Impact Assessment and Human Health Risk Assessment approaches, links between major projects and health, and options for monitoring, mitigation and management.
- Project-level advisory support for specific project reviews, including help interpreting assessment findings and identifying health-related conditions, mitigations or management plans.
- Funding for community-led health assessment work that strengthens understanding of health and environmental conditions and supports participation in project reviews, community decision-making and community-led assessment processes.
Eligible project activities
Funding may support activities such as baseline and community health assessments, knowledge reviews, readiness planning and community engagement.
Projects may focus on:
- Current health, social, cultural and environmental conditions
- Access to traditional foods, harvesting areas and culturally important species
- Social and cultural determinants of health
- Community priorities, values and expectations for health and wellness
- Review of existing studies, monitoring data or reports
- Identification of information gaps and priorities for future work
- Planning for monitoring, mitigation or followup activities
Projects should be community-led or community-endorsed and designed to build community capacity and inform decision-making. Communities may also work with technical experts, such as public health professionals, epidemiologists, environmental scientists or researchers, where appropriate.
Eligibility
Funding is available to First Nations communities in British Columbia.
Eligible applicants may also include First Nations governments and communities, Tribal councils, First Nations organizations and organizations working in partnership with First Nations communities
How to Apply
Applications are accepted on a continuous intake basis. Communities are encouraged to connect with FNHA to discuss project ideas and priorities.
To learn more or express interest, please contact:
Environmental. Health@FNHA.ca