Ottawa - April 7, 2005 -The Honourable Aileen Carroll, Minister of International Cooperation, has announced that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will provide close to $90 million for initiatives that will improve maternal and child health in developing countries, marking World Health Day. "There is simply no good reason why, in the twenty first century, thousands of women and children in developing countries should be dying during childbirth and the early years of life, " said Minister Carroll." CIDA funded health programs and interventions have saved millions of lives and are achieving real, positive and measurable results. This is why, on World Health Day, I am pleased to announce new funding for such initiatives." Today's announcement includes almost $50 million to programs that will improve child health in Africa, including integrated programs related to tuberculosis, micronutrients such as vitamin A, and measles and polio immunization. Canada is also providing close to $40 million to support programs that will improve sexual and reproductive health in Bangladesh and Nigeria, strengthening national health systems in the process. These new initiatives reflect Canada's ongoing commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, a set of international goals which aim to reduce poverty, hunger, and child mortality, improve maternal health, promote gender equality, achieve universal primary education, ensure environmental sustainability, and fight diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria ¿ all by 2015. In 2001, CIDA launched its Health and Nutrition Action Plan, committing $1.2 billion to health and nutrition programming in developing countries over a five-year period. In the February 2005 federal budget, Canada announced an additional $300 million to health programs that address child immunization and major disease control. Funding for these initiatives was provided for in the February 2005 federal budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework. - 30 - Information Andrew Graham Director of Communications Office of the Minister of International Cooperation Telephone: (819) 953-6238 Media Relations Office Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Telephone: (819) 953-6534 E-mail: info@acdi-cida.gc.ca Web site: www.cida.gc.ca (electronic version of document) Canada's Support for Maternal and Child Health Initiatives The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) announced on World Health Day 2005 close to $90 million in funding for maternal and child health programs. More than half of these funds will promote child health in Africa, including programs related to tuberculosis, micronutrients such as vitamin A, and measles and polio immunization. The balance will promote sexual and reproductive health programs in Bangladesh and Nigeria, strengthening national health systems in the process. Initiatives that improve maternal health include: Almost $20 million over two years, including $5.95 million to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and $13.75 million to UNICEF for the Essential Health Commodity Project in Bangladesh. This initiative aims to improve access of poor and vulnerable groups, especially women and children, to essential drugs, vaccines and family planning commodities. UNICEF and UNFPA will work the Government of Bangladesh to ensure better access for the poor; $11 million over four years to the UNFPA for Contraceptives and Safe Motherhood Kits for Nigeria. This will help improve women's ability to make informed choices regarding contraception and reproductive health and will enhance women's abilities to exercise control over their reproductive rights; and, $8.2 million over 5 years to the UNFPA in Haiti to reduce maternal mortality. This project will provide technical assistance, support family planning and support the provision of emergency obstetric services. Initiatives that improve child health include: $15 million over one year to support Helen Keller International's Vitamin A program to help provide vitamin A supplements to children between the ages of six months and five years. Through this project approximately 52 million additional capsules of vitamin A will be distributed at a cost of 29 cents each; $4.4 million over one year to the Micronutrient Initiative (MI) for continued efforts to reduce levels of death and disease in countries with high rates of vitamin and mineral deficiencies. It will permit the immediate replenishing of the Vitamin A stock held by UNICEF, allow the MI to extend the reach of Vitamin A supplementation to children in the highest mortality areas of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, and to give urgently needed support for child health weeks and other actions, particularly in Africa; $12 million to UNICEF for the provision, in Africa, of vitamin A supplements for children between the ages of six months and five years, averting deaths and cases of nutritional blindness. Approximately 42 million additional doses of vitamin A will be provided through this initiative. Through the MI and UNICEF, CIDA has provided more than one billion vitamin A capsules to children under 5 years of age in more than 50 developing countries. UNICEF estimates that since 1998, more than 1.5 million children's lives have been saved through Canada's support; $10.5 million over three years to UNICEF Immunization Program in Nigeria to help increase public awareness of the Oral Polio Vaccine and increase the number of children immunized during National Immunization Days; and, $7.5 million over one year to support UNICEF's measles immunization efforts and at reducing measles mortality in Africa. In coordination with the World Health Organization and other partners, UNICEF anticipates vaccinating approximately 60 million children against measles through immunization campaigns in Africa in 2005.
