A Hand Up
October 23, 2025
Through its Health Equity Initiative, Novartis Canada is helping organizations like Foundations for Social Change extend their reach and connect underserved populations with healthcare solutions.
While Canadians take great pride in our universal healthcare system, there are plenty of places where the “universal” promise doesn’t quite hold true. In a recent study by the CD Howe Institute that looked at various aspects of healthcare systems among 10 peer countries, Canada ranked third-from-last on health equity.4 Although many non-profit organizations are trying to reach underserved populations and improve health equity in Canada, funding can be a challenge that limits their reach and effectiveness.
A pharmaceutical company is recognizing the importance of improving health equity and establishing innovative programs and partnerships to support organizations in their missions. In 2024, Novartis Canada launched its Health Equity Initiative, a national program designed to fund community-led projects that help to address gaps in the Canadian healthcare landscape.
“Health equity is not just an aspirational goal, it is essential to building a healthier, more resilient society,” said Rosa D’Acunti, Head of Communications and Patient Advocacy for Novartis Canada, upon launching the program. “When we invest in fairer systems and empower local solutions, we improve outcomes for everyone. At Novartis Canada, our approach to health equity begins with understanding the lived realities of the people affected most by gaps in care and supporting those working to create solutions from inside their communities.”
In its inaugural year, the program received more than 130 applications from across the country. That was narrowed to three recipients, who shared in a total of $680,000 in grants.
“The three organizations that received the award last year were Foundations for Social Change, Fort Severn First Nation, and Black Physicians of Canada,” explains D’Acunti. “These organizations are doing amazing work in advancing health equity in their specific remits, whether it’s helping people out of the streets, or training health educators for remote communities, or creating a database to connect physicians and future physicians on the importance of culturally-sensitive care. When we started seeing these projects coming to life, it was quite moving to see how an initial idea and then an award went on to have a visible impact on people’s lives.”
One of these very projects was initiated by Foundations for Social Change (FSC). “At FSC, we're committed to developing innovative programs that help vulnerable populations by addressing social issues like homelessness through evidence-based solutions,” explains Amber Dyce, CEO of FSC. “We wanted to look at the determinants of health in unhoused people, because we know that the longer a person stays unhoused, the more likely they are to have chronic health issues. For individuals who are chronically homeless, life expectancy decreases by an average of 17.5 years, and they have less access to healthcare because of biases, public perception, and systemic barriers.”
FSC’s “New Leaf” project, now funded by the Novartis Health Equity initiative, is aimed at helping people who don’t have significant mental health challenges or addictions, many of whom are newly homeless, perhaps for the first time. “This is a population where there aren't a lot of existing supports, but that are at high risk of having many chronic issues down the road,” says Dyce. The program provides individuals with an unconditional cash transfer to give them some flexibility to make choices that will help them get back on their feet.
“If someone is just managing to tread water but not get out of their precarious situation, we’re trying to find those levers that can lift them out of the water and help them create sustainable change so they can move up to a more equitable space,” explains Dyce. “For example, if someone is now able to afford more secure housing, they may be able to work more hours and get paid more per hour because their health is better and they have more food security. All these things are deeply connected.”
The program also provides each participant with peer support through a community connector who can assist with way-finding within the healthcare system, provide help for mental health issues, and ensure other wrap-around supports.5
Dyce says that the award and support from Novartis Canada have been transformational for her organization and their ability to support vulnerable populations. “The support from Novartis Canada has changed our ability to speak to the work we're doing. It's created hope and opportunity,” she says. “We’ve been able to make good use of the funds themselves, but beyond that, the partnership with Novartis Canada gives us a pivot point to speak more towards the advocacy side of our mission. Poor health outcomes and homelessness aren't necessarily something that you easily get funding for, so being able to have some breathing room has been massive for the work we're doing to advocate for systems change.”
“We are looking at the determinants of health in unhoused people, because we know that the longer a person stays unhoused, the more likely they are to have chronic health issues.”
Amber Dyce, CEO, Foundations for Social Change
The team at Novartis Canada has been transformed by the experience, too. “The Health Equity Initiative has been an eye-opening journey for many of us, which encourages us to continue to lead our work with humility and action,” says D’Acunti. “This is, without any doubt, one of the most meaningful projects I've worked on in my career. I've been inspired every day by the purpose and dedication of the people around me at Novartis and by the organizations that received the award.”
Nominations for the 2025 award closed at the end of June, and the team at Novartis Canada is now looking forward to unveiling the winners in November. “We are proud of the Novartis Health Equity Initiative and its ability to drive meaningful change in addressing persistent and complex healthcare inequities in Canada,” says D’Acunti. “It’s a powerful catalyst for building a more resilient and inclusive healthcare system, one that can better help Canadians while easing long-term system strain.”