91丝瓜视频

CIHR funded team will create a new blueprint for public health emergencies: a pan-Canadian Civilian Emergency Reserve

Prativa Baral, Assistant Professor in the Department of Global and Public Health, has received $750K in total funding over three years from Canada Institutes of Health Research鈥檚 (CIHR) Strengthening Resilient & Equitable Public Health Systems (STEPS) Team Grant program. The award supports the project, 鈥淒esigning a Pan-Canadian Civilian Emergency Reserve: governance, finance, and workforce models to strengthen public health surge capacity鈥�.

An epidemiologist and global health researcher, with expertise spanning infectious diseases, health data infrastructure, and misinformation in crisis response, Baral鈥檚 work focuses on strengthening health systems and building preparedness for health emergencies. She is Deputy Director of the Pandemic and Emergency Readiness Lab (PERL), launched in February.

The project will be led through a tripartite co-leadership model. Baral serves as research lead, alongside Joanne Liu, Professor in 91丝瓜视频鈥檚 School of Population & Global Health and Director of PERL. They will work in partnership with Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh, National Director of Public Health in Quebec, and Conrad Sauv茅, President and CEO of the Canadian Red Cross.

Designing a national civilian reserve for health emergencies

Canada鈥檚 public health systems are facing converging challenges, including pandemics, climate-related disasters, toxic drug deaths, antimicrobial resistance, and deepening inequities. A central issue is the absence of reliable 鈥渟urge capacity鈥�, a trained workforce that can be rapidly mobilized during crises such as pandemics, wildfires, floods, and other climate-related events to support effective response and recovery. Although several provinces have begun establishing civilian reserves, these initiatives have largely focused on natural disaster response, leaving a critical gap in health surge capacity.

Provinces and territories have therefore repeatedly relied on the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to fill urgent staffing and operational gaps during emergencies, for example during the COVID-19 pandemic. While essential at times, routine reliance on military personnel is costly, difficult to sustain, and not well-suited to meet long-term public health needs.

To address this challenge, the team will assess and produce governance, financing and workforce models along with actionable policy options for a Pan-Canadian Civilian Emergency Reserve. This proposed reserve would function as a coordinated civilian workforce capable of supporting response and recovery efforts during health and humanitarian emergencies.

Using a participatory co-design approach, the team will produce practical recommendations for how such a reserve could be governed, funded, staffed, and deployed. They will also assess the feasibility, acceptability, sustainability, and equity implications of different models to ensure they operate effectively across diverse communities and jurisdictions without exacerbating existing disparities.

Partners on the project include the Canadian Red Cross, provincial and federal decision-makers, and community stakeholders.

Ultimately, the team aims to strengthen preparedness, and provide evidence to reduce reliance on the CAF, and enable more equitable emergency response across Canada.

support actionable evidence to build resilient and equitable public health systems. The program aims to inform robust decision-making that improves population health and advances health equity.

Funding is led by the CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health in collaboration with CIHR partners (Institute of Health Services and Policy Research, Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health, and the Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies), the Fonds de recherche du Qu茅bec 鈥� Sant茅, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and Michael Smith Health Research BC.

Over $10 million in funding to 14 research teams across Canada, including the team led by Baral, in this funding round.

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