Life-saving initiatives will provide pharmaceutical-grade medication as alternative to toxic illegal drug supply during COVID-19 outbreak and beyond
February 1, 2021 | Vancouver, BC | Health Canada
The overdose crisis continues to be one of the most serious public health crises in Canada’s recent history. Tragically, in many communities, the COVID-19 outbreak is worsening this crisis. The Government of Canada continues to support communities across Canada as they respond to drug overdoses and harms during the outbreak.
Today, on behalf of the Minister of Health, the Honourable Hedy Fry, along with the Honourable Sheila Malcolmson, British Columbia’s Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, announced more than $15 million in federal funding for four safer supply projects for people at risk of overdose in B.C. These projects will provide pharmaceutical-grade medication as an alternative to the toxic illegal supply in circulation.
The four safer supply projects, based in Vancouver and Victoria, will provide people with opioid use disorder with a safer, medical alternative from a licensed prescriber. The initiatives will also connect them with important health and social services, including treatment, which may be more difficult to access during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Substance use disorder is a health condition that can be managed and treated if people are provided with services and supports that best meet their needs. However, during the COVID-19 outbreak, people who use drugs are experiencing a number of increased risks, with several jurisdictions reporting higher rates of overdose, including fatal overdoses, and other harms related to an increasingly toxic illegal supply. The Government of Canada is working in collaboration with all levels of government, partners, stakeholders, people with lived and living experience of drug use, and organizations in communities across the country to respond to the outbreak and the overdose crisis.