Policy Updates

From June 17 to 20, 2024, Canada hosted the 54^th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the CDB and announced more than CAD11 million (US$8 million) in funding for economic development in the Caribbean.

The funding included:

• CAD5 million (US$4 million) to the Inter-American Development Bank for the Compete Caribbean+ project to enhance private sector productivity and foster regional economic growth;
• CAD4 million (US$3 million) to the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica for the Jamaica Urban Solutions for the Environment project to increase climate resilience through gender-responsive and nature-based solutions for urban areas vulnerable to climate hazards; and
• CAD2 million (US$1 million) in top-ups to UNFPA for the program EQUAL SRHR to improve the protection of women and girls in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, including those who are Venezuelan migrants, by advancing SRHR and protection from GBV.

On June 20, 2024, Canadian Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen announced CAD85 million (US$62 million) in funding to AVMA, a new initiative to enhance health security and equitable access to vaccines across Africa.

Despite having approximately 20% of the world’s population, Africa accounts for less than 0.1% of the world’s vaccine production.

Led by Gavi, AVMA aims to provide financial incentives to help vaccine manufacturers in Africa build and increase sustainable production capacity to improve the region’s resilience to pre-existing, new, and emerging pandemics and other health emergencies. By 2035, AVMA aims to incentivize the production of over 800 million vaccine doses.

On June 13, 2024, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participated in a G7 working session on Africa, climate change, and development as well as a side event on the G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, where he announced over CAD1.6 billion (US$1.2 billion) to promote sustainable development and inclusive global clean energy transition.

The announced funding included:

• CAD720 million (US$524 million) over five years for a new concessional finance facility at FinDev Canada to mobilize capital for sustainable development, including from the private sector;
• CAD510 million (US$371 million) in repayable contributions and technical assistance grants to the Inter-American Development Bank Group to establish the Canadian Net Zero and Climate Resilience Accelerator Fund. The funding is intended incentivize private-sector investments that will help economies in Latin America and the Caribbean become less carbon-intensive, more climate-resilient, and more inclusive;
• CAD274 million (US$200 million) to purchase hybrid capital from the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This is slated to enable up to CAD1.8 billion (US$1.3 billion) in additional lending to low- and middle-income countries to improve education and health to reduce food insecurity and carbon footprints;
• CAD120 million (US$87 million) in sovereign loans and a CAD7 million (US$5 million) technical assistance grant to South Africa in support of its Just Energy Transition Partnership to transition to secure and affordable clean energy while addressing economic inclusion gaps; and
• CAD45 million (US$33 million) in repayable loans to the Private Infrastructure Development Group to expand financing options for sustainable and gender-inclusive infrastructure in Africa and Asia.

On May 27, 2024, Canadian Minister of International Development, Ahmed Hussed announced more than CAD55 million (US$40 million) to address urgent civilian needs in Syria amid the ongoing conflict.

The new funding will address urgent civilian needs in Syria and the region, including providing food, WASH services, protection services including the prevention and response to GBV, and health services including the provision of access to SRH healthcare. Development assistance funding will also be allocated through existing projects in Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon that benefit Syrian refugees and strengthen these countries’ ability to support displaced Syrians.

More than 13 years into the Syrian crisis, over 16 million people, or 70% of the population, urgently require assistance, and nearly 7 million Syrian refugees remain sheltered in neighboring countries. The new funding brings Canada’s total commitment to over CAD147 million (US$108 million) in international assistance funding to Syria and neighboring countries in 2024.

On May 23-25, 2024, the G7 Ministers of Finance met at a summit in Stresa, Italy, where the ministers voiced support for contributions to the IDA, WHO, Gavi, and the Global Fund in the resulting communiqué.

The G7 ministers supported efforts towards a successful 21^st replenishment of the IDA by the end of 2024 through an ambitious policy and financing package. Notably, they did not give a concrete signal that the critical US$100 billion threshold requested by the World Bank will be crossed, nor any indication of the US$120 billion expected by African leaders.

The ministers reaffirmed their dedication to strengthening the governance and finance of the global health architecture and voiced support for refinancing processes of several GHIs, such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the WHO, and the Global Fund, and expressed support for the Pandemic Fund. The communiqué called on the donor community to coordinate efforts and increase investments in global health in line with their capacities to ensure sustainable funding and maximize the impact of available resources.

Following the summit, the C7 pointed out the G7's lack of ambition and financial commitment to international development, including climate adaptation. International civil society organizations criticized the lack of any reference to allocating SDRs to global solidarity.

On May 16, 2014, Canadian Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen concluded a trip to Ethiopia and Tanzania, where he announced nearly CAD195 million (US$143 million) to several development projects focused on education, SRHR, climate, peace, and security.

The funding included:

• CAD65 million (US$48 million) to UNFPA to implement the Protecting the Dignity and Rights of Women and Girls project in Ethiopia, which will support family planning services and prevention and response to SGBV;
• CAD30 million (US$22 million) to the International Finance Facility for Education to implement a new financing mechanism for global education, which will support lower-middle income countries to fund quality education;
• CAD25 million (US$18 million) to ACELI Africa to implement the Agri - SME Catalytic Financing Mechanism, helping high-impact agricultural SMEs and promoting economic growth and food security;
• CAD21 million (US$15 million) to CARE Canada for the Her Resilience, Our Planet project, which promotes climate-resilient agriculture and supports the empowerment of women to address climate change;
• CAD20 million (US$15 million) to the [[AU] to help implement its 2063 agenda and strategic plan to advance sustainable and inclusive development;
• CAD15 million (US$11 million) to UNICEF’s Improving Adolescent SRHR in Tanzania initiative, to enhance access to gender-responsive SRHR information and services for adolescents; and,
• CAD14 million (US$10 million) to the UNDP’s demobilization and reintegration project in Ethiopia.

On May 16, 2024, Canadian Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen announced CAD65 million (US$48 million) in funding to address urgent civilian needs in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict, including food, medical assistance, and other essential services.

The funding includes CAD25 million (US$18 million) to UNRWA, previously announced in June 2023, as well as an additional CAD40 million (US$29 million) in new funding distributed to UNWRA and other trusted partners, including the CRC. The funding will support the distribution of food, water, emergency medical assistance, protection services, and other critical assistance.

Hussen also announced that Canada has delivered a payment of CAD25 million (US$18 million) to UNRWA as part of its previously announced existing multi-year commitment with the agency to help meet the education, health, and safety assistance needs of Palestinian refugees in the region.

Canada reiterated its condemnation of Hamas and their attack on October 7, 2023, as well as Canada’s demand for the immediate release of hostages, the urgent need for an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza, and its commitment to a two-state solution.

On May 14-15, 2024, the C7 summit was held at the UN FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, organized by the Italian Civil Society Coalition that led, coordinated, and moderated the C7 2024 process.

Approximately 400 global representatives took part in the event, as well as international decision-makers, including FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, Italian G7 sherpa Ambassador Elisabetta Belloni, Cardinal, President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Pope’s envoy for the Russian-Ukrainian conflict Matteo Maria Zuppi, and Director of the UN SDG Action Campaign Marina Ponti.

The official C7 communiqué that listed the international civil society recommendation to the G7’s Leaders around seven key issues was released at the event, which included:

• Economic justice and transformation;
• Climate, energy transformation, and environmental justice;
• Global health;
• Principled humanitarian assistance;
• Peace, common security, and nuclear disarmament;
• Human mobility and migration; and
• Food justice and food systems transformation.

On May 3, 2024, Canada announced CAD65 million (US$48 million) in international assistance funding to Lebanon, including CAD38 million (US$28 million) in development assistance funding and CAD27 million (US$20 million) in humanitarian assistance funding.

The humanitarian assistance will help provide WASH services, health care including SRH services, and protection services including for survivors of SGBV.

The development funding includes:

• CAD20 million (US$15 million) to the UN FAO to improve the capacities of farmers and increase food security in response to climate change and economic shocks;
• CAD13 million (US$10 million) to UNDP to improve the economic security and prosperity of women-led micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises in sectors with high growth and export potential; and
• CAD5 million (US$4 million) to UN Women and UNDP to address barriers facing women’s representation in decision-making and leadership positions, specifically for women in parliament and municipal councils.

On April 15, 2024, Canadian Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen participated in the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and its Neighbours, where he announced CAD132million (US$96 million) in international assistance funding to Sudan and neighbouring Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.

The announcement included nearly CAD101 million (US$73 million) in humanitarian assistance and nearly CAD32 million (US$23 million) in development assistance amid the ongoing armed conflict in Sudan. The funding is slated to provide crisis-affected people with emergency health services, food and nutrition assistance, protection services for gender-based violence survivors, and other assistance including shelter, water, and sanitation services. The development assistance will support critical programming in SRHR and education infrastructure.