The province is hoping new funding will reduce wait times for patients receiving treatment for eating disorders.

Health Minister Cameron Friesen says a $1.1 million investment will expand eating disorder programs at Health Sciences Centre Wininpeg, as well as create a safe nutrition clinic.

"Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia and binge-eating are the number one cause of death among all mental illnesses," Friesen says. "This investment will decrease wait times for treatment and keep individuals close to their support networks in Manitoba, while receiving care."

He notes it's estimated that 5-8 percent of women in Canada will experience an eating disorder at some point, adding in Manitoba that's approximately 100,000 women.

The funding will reduce the wait times of inpatient care to one to two weeks from two to 10 weeks and outpatient care to two to three weeks from four to six months. The funding will also allow money previously allocated to send Manitobans out of province to be reinvested on supports in Manitoba. In the first six months of 2019, over $500,000 was spent on five patients to be sent out of province for care.

"Nearly one million Canadians live with a diagnosable eating disorder and millions more struggle with food and weight preoccupation," Elaine Stevenson says, co-founder of the Alyssa Stevenson Eating Disorder Memorial Trust. "The initiatives announced today by this government will significantly address the urgent need for access to timely, comprehensive and specialized treatment."