Women’s health, front and centre

Union Station

Happy Fall everyone!

As your Minister of Health — and as a former full-time nurse — I carry your stories with me. When we launched our listening tour in late 2023, we promised to act and report back. I’m happy to report that while there’s still much more work to do, we’ve made real progress that’s making a difference for Manitobans.

We’ve hired a net new 3,400 healthcare workers. That includes 285 doctors, over 1,100 nurses and over 400 allied healthcare professionals. Last year, we hired a record number of doctors and were not slowing down. We’ve opened four new extended hours clinics in Winnipeg, including one at the Misericordia Hospital, which is serving thousands of Union Station constituents.

Last fall, we made prescription birth control free, covering about 60 methods, so cost is no longer a barrier, and you have the freedom to choose what works best for your body. Well over 120,000 women have benefited from this life-changing investment. This spring, we expanded coverage to include copper IUDs and emergency contraceptives, eliminating upfront costs that could reach $600. And we’ve made menopause care better for women and those who need it by making HRT free as part of our Manitoba Enhanced Pharmacare Program. These changes are real steps toward equity, giving women and families the security to plan their futures with confidence and more affordability.

When it comes to cancer care, we’re taking bold steps forward: We’re lowering the breast screening age to 45 and nearly doubled capacity to more than 80,000 mammograms a year, with $4.6 million invested to expand screening and add clinic hours. We’ve started design work on a new CancerCare Manitoba headquarters to bring Manitobans world-class care close to home. We’re committing $1 million over three years to ovarian cancer research through Ovarian Cancer Canada and the Manitoba Ovarian Cancer Research group so women’s cancers get the attention they’ve long needed.

We’re also creating more women‑centred healthcare services by reopening the Mature Women’s Health Centre at Victoria Hospital — a vital service the previous PC government terminated — and through our recent $100,000 investment to help the Western Manitoba Women’s Centre grow its safe, culturally connected hub in Brandon.

None of this works without people and partnerships. We’re working hard to not only fix the damage done to healthcare by the previous PC government but to unite Manitobans around the common goal of a healthier province for all. One Manitoba.

Please feel free to reach out to my office at uzoma.asagwara@yourmanitoba.ca or 204-306-8581. You can also visit my office at 210B-254 Edmonton St., open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.