In recognition of the exceptional pressures facing health care, the CMA Foundation (CMAF) is today announcing a commitment of $20 million, one of the largest COVID-19 donations to date. This funding will be allocated through targeted grants to support urgent needs within the health care system, including:
- Innovation in family medicine: $5 million will be granted to the Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine (FAFM)’s COVID-19 pandemic response and impact grant program (Co-RIG).
- Frontline hospitals and COVID-19 crisis response efforts by physicians and health care workers:
- $5 million will be allocated to the Frontline Fund for Healthcare Workers, which will benefit hospitals and health care workers across Canada with 100+ bed count and Intensive Care Units (ICUs);
- $5 million will be set up as a fund by the CMAF to benefit community hospitals;
- $250,000 will be granted to Doctors without Borders / Médecins sans frontières’ COVID-19 Crisis Fund.
- Medical learners: More than $5 million will be granted to 17 medical schools to address financial hardships experienced by medical students and residents in the context of COVID-19.
"Canada’s physicians and health care providers are responding to COVID-19 in a challenging environment where resources are scarce and many unknowns affect their daily work," says Allison Seymour, CMAF president. "We hope that through this significant donation we can have an impact that accelerates the efforts of the frontline across Canada as it responds to the threat of COVID-19. We also want to take this opportunity to thank Canada’s physicians and health care providers for their courage and dedication."
Today’s announcement builds on the work underway at the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), which is focused on supporting physicians and medical learners as they rally together to address the pandemic. Working with federal officials and with its physician-members, the CMA has been providing policy expertise, pressing for action, informing physicians and the public, and developing a range of resources.