Manulife Supports Women's Mental Health and Well-Being through CAMH

Manulife Pledges $1 Million Over Three Years to Support Research, Capacity Development and Advocacy

TORONTO, March 19, 2024 /CNW/ - The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), through its initiative womenmind™, and Manulife, a leading global life and health insurer and global asset manager, have entered into a three-year partnership to support the Women's Health Research Cluster (WHRC). The $1 million donation will support women's mental health and well-being, not only in Canada, but around the world.

The WHRC is an international network of multidisciplinary professionals that strives to create a future where women and girls can live equitably healthy lives across their lifespan. With over 570 members in 29 countries, the WHRC takes an integrated health approach that recognizes all aspects of a person can affect mental health, including access to help and treatment facilities, economic status, physical health, well-being, and more.

The WHRC is allied with CAMH's womenmind initiative, a community of philanthropists, thought leaders and scientists inspired and empowered by the work of CAMH to tackle sex and gender disparities in science and put the unique needs and experiences of women at the forefront of mental health research.

"Women's health research has, for centuries, been undervalued and underfunded," said Dr. Liisa Galea, inaugural Treliving Family Chair in Women's Mental Health, Scientific Lead for womenmind, and Leader of the Women's Health Research Cluster. "In Canada, less than 6 percent of research projects funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research explicitly examine factors specific to women's health, despite the fact that many mental health disorders—such as anxiety and depression—disproportionately affect girls, women and gender diverse individuals. We need to do better, and we can do better. I am very grateful to Manulife as one of the largest corporate supporters of CAMH to help us cultivate sex and gender health equity in Canada and worldwide."

"Our government is working with our partners to break down barriers to make it easier, and more convenient for people to access the mental health services they need, when they need them," said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, "Womenmind is another example of how collaboration across the health care system is ensuring essential research into women's mental health, leading to better access to high quality mental health services, in every corner of the province, and meeting the unique needs of women across Ontario and Canada."

Through the partnership, Manulife will provide the Women's Health Research Cluster with $1 million over three years to advance its strategic priorities, including:

• Research Facilitation: Enabling and connecting researchers to do their best work;
• Capacity Development: Building the next generation of researchers;
• Advocacy: Driving equity in policy and investment in women's health research;
• Knowledge Translation: Generating interdisciplinary dialogue around women's health to improve health outcomes.

"Manulife proudly supports the WHRC's efforts to tackle sex and gender disparities in science to place the unique needs and experiences of women at the forefront of mental and physical health research," said Naveed Irshad, President of Manulife Canada. "We are deeply committed to fostering positive change and empowering sustained health and well-being here in Canada and worldwide. This partnership exemplifies our broader mission of making a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals and communities where we live and work, leaving a lasting legacy of support and empowerment."

Manulife is committed to helping Canadians improve their physical, mental and financial health and live longer, healthier, better lives. Through its Impact Agenda, Manulife is proud to support local organizations across the country, like CAMH, and empower sustained health and well-being.

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we provide financial advice and insurance, operating as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Through Manulife Investment Management, the global brand for our Global Wealth and Asset Management segment, we serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2023, we had more than 38,000 employees, over 98,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 35 million customers. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges, and under '945' in Hong Kong.

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The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada's largest mental health teaching hospital and one of the world's leading research centres in its field. CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto and is a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre. The organization conducts groundbreaking research, provides expert training to health care professionals and scientists, develops innovative health promotion and prevention strategies, and advocates on public policy issues at all levels of government. Through its Foundation, CAMH raises tens of millions of additional dollars to fund new programs and research and augment services.

womenmind™ is a community of philanthropists, thought leaders and scientists dedicated to tackling gender disparities in science to put the unique needs and experiences of women at the forefront of mental health research. Inspired and empowered by the work of CAMH, members of the womenmind community connect with and learn from each other while driving change for women's mental health and women in science.

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation