November 10, 2014 – World Science Day for Peace and Development is about understanding how science and innovation affect our daily lives. Nowhere is this more important than in the context of sustainable development. Science is key to improving our understanding of the world and making our societies more sustainable.
At Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, science, technology and innovation are instrumental to our work, and we are working to integrate them into our development policy and programming. Our increased focus on partnerships for development innovation highlights our commitment to promoting innovation in the work we do to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives around the world.
We know that we need to help promote science and technology in developing countries through programs that enhance local capacity and create environments that support innovation. We know that the Canadian science and technology community, particularly the private sector and diaspora communities, have the resources and skills needed to tackle development challenges. We also know that many development challenges are so complex that they require all partners to work together to come up with solutions that are as effective as possible. That is why Canada works to diversify partnerships and bring more players to the table to seek out innovative solutions to challenging issues.
For example, Canada supports the Zinc Alliance for Child Health, an innovative public-private-civil society partnership between Teck Resources, a Canadian private sector company, and the Micronutrient Initiative, a global leader in nutrition. The alliance aims to improve child survival by delivering zinc supplements and oral rehydration salts to treat diarrhea, one of the most common killers of children in developing countries. So far, the alliance is working in several countries including Senegal and Ethiopia, but we aim to bring these kinds of initiatives to other countries to end even more preventable child deaths.
Through Grand Challenges Canada, Canada also supports Saving Lives at Birth to find innovative solutions to global health problems—innovative solutions such as the Solar Suitcase, an economical, easy-to-use portable power unit that gives health workers medical lighting and power, and the Odon Device, an innovative, low-cost instrument to make childbirth safer and easier when labour is delayed or obstructed.
These kinds of innovations are saving lives. And Canada values the need to promote such innovation and to integrate science and technology into our efforts to improve the lives of people around the world.
Christian Paradis
Minister of International Development and La Francophonie
