In addition to increasing the participation of Canadians in international development, the Volunteer Cooperation Program (VCP) contributes to the economic and social well-being of the poorest, most marginalized and most vulnerable people, particularly women and girls, in developing countries. With a budget of almost $418 million, the VCP will fund 13 volunteer projects through 15 Canadian organizations, from 2020 to 2027.
Volunteering for international development is a powerful and cross-cutting way to advance the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Every day, volunteers dedicate their time and effort to ensure the inclusion of those often left behind and promote gender equality.
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, will take part in the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers Meeting in Liverpool, United Kingdom, from December 10 to December 12, 2021.
Canada has announced a financial contribution of $195 million for 11 projects with Canadian and international partners. A portion of this funding is part of the $520 million pledged by Canada at the launch of the Nutrition for Growth Year of Action a year ago.
The COVID-19 pandemic, climate-related disasters and conflict are driving hunger and malnutrition worldwide, putting the world’s poorest and most vulnerable—especially women and girls—at increased risk of death and disease. As one of the largest donors to the nutrition sector globally, Canada is committed to working with its partners to reclaim the nutrition gains lost during the COVID-19 pandemic while also continuing to focus on the gender dimensions of the nutrition crisis.
Canada’s $85 million in new projects and contributions, as well as its renewed commitment on ongoing, multi-year support for UN peace operations and peacebuilding, is shaped by Canada’s feminist foreign policy, evidence and the collective experiences of peacekeepers themselves.
The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence, participated in the 2021 Seoul United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial (UNPKM) virtual conference hosted by South Korea. Minister Anand participated in her role and on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The text of the following statement was released by Canada, Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States: We are profoundly concerned by recent reports of the Ethiopian government’s detention of large numbers of Ethiopian citizens on the basis of their ethnicity and without charge.
The world is facing an unprecedented global hunger and malnutrition emergency. Assistance is required to help affected countries avert famine and to ensure that other countries do not reach those levels of food insecurity.
Democracy is a universal aspiration and an enabler of sustainable development. As Member States of International IDEA, we are stewards of this conviction and heirs to the historic transformation of the past century, which turned democratic government into the global norm, thus enhancing development, human rights, peace and security.
