Wellesley Institute is looking forward to hosting Powering Equity, Canada’s first summit on the collection, use and governance of race-based data for health on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
Bringing together 140 health equity leaders from across the country, the summit will shine a spotlight on efforts underway at local, provincial and federal levels that are aimed at understanding and addressing health disparities among racialized communities.
“Race-based data makes the invisible visible and gives us tools to target new actions and measure their success,” says Dr. Kwame McKenzie, CEO of Wellesley Institute and summit chair.
For example, race-based data in Toronto during COVID-19 demonstrated that Black populations had a nine-fold increase in infections. This led to a change in the pandemic strategy that decreased disparities.
“Having the data helped save lives,” says Dr. McKenzie, adding, “This summit will enable health equity leaders to learn from each other, and hopefully accelerate our efforts across the country.”
Summit speakers include leaders from Black Health Alliance, the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the Centre for Healthcare Innovation at the University of Manitoba, Employment and Social Development Canada, the Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat, The Health Association of African Canadians, the Institute of Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Nova Scotia Department of Health and Welfare, Ontario Health, Statistics Canada and Stats BC.
View the Powering Equity program.
Event attendees will also discuss a consensus statement that outlines the core evidence and a common framework for the collection, use and governance of race-based data to advance health equity in Canada. We look forward to releasing this in the weeks ahead.