I am currently a Health Emergency Management Coordinator for Indigenous Services Canada in the Atlantic Region of Canada. This means I support the emergency response efforts to COVID-19 of the 33 First Nations and Inuit communities spread across the 4 Atlantic provinces - Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. First Nations and Inuit communities face unique challenges due to socioeconomic disparities, remoteness, and access to primary care facilities all of which can compound the impacts of COVID-19 on these populations. My role has taken on many different forms and has changed over the course of the pandemic, but has been things such as ensuring communities have access to PPE, PCR tests, or Rapid Antigen Tests. It also means things like communicating changes in federal and provincial guidance regarding vaccination recommendations or transport requirements. Also, it has meant offering peer-to-peer support to a community dealing with a lot. I have played a leading role in our internal coordination, mainly in our information reporting requirements meaning I was involved in drafting and creating information products for various executives and other Federal partners.
As our COVID-19 response moves towards recovery, I am now supporting communities in their recovery efforts. This means I work with communities to help them identify what went well in their response, identify the gaps, and implement changes to ensure the community is better prepared for future waves or future emergencies.
This has been, while tiring, incredibly rewarding work. I have been using the education I gained while a Global Grant Scholar on a daily basis. It has allowed me to play a role, if only a small role, in helping move towards a post-pandemic world.