During the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Minister Paradis announced Canada’s support toward the following development initiatives to reduce poverty and inequality in the world and improve maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH)—Canada’s top development priority.
Blended Finance Initiatives and Innovative Approaches to Development Financing
Partners: MaRS/MaRS Centre for Impact Investing/Convergence Blended Finance, Inc.
Funding: $20 million (2015–2020)
Project Description: As part of the Redesigning Development Finance Initiative (RDFI) of the World Economic Forum and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Canada is supporting the creation of a new global initiative called Convergence, which is also being supported by a range of public, private and philanthropic actors. Convergence will be the world’s first platform blending private, public, and philanthropic capital for the greater good, and a catalytic movement to increase capital to finance development projects through public-private blended finance partnerships.
- Global Infrastructure Facility
Partner: World Bank Group
Funding: $20 million (one year)
Project Description: With Canada’s support at the founding stages, the World Bank Group is developing the Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) in order to enable private-public partnerships for infrastructure financing. The GIF will engage and integrate the efforts of multilateral development banks, institutional investors, private-sector infrastructure service providers, and local governments to stimulate economic growth and expand access to basic services that help alleviate poverty in emerging markets and developing economies.
- An Initiative to Increase Domestic Resource Mobilization in Developing Countries
Canada will join other donors and developing countries to commit to increasing support for domestic resource mobilization. This initiative includes doubling global support for technical cooperation to improve public revenue generation for domestic resource mobilization by 2020, recognizing that political will is needed to drive forward policy reform and administration and commitment from partner countries to accept responsibility for channelling resources toward effective public services; and to pursue policy coherence for development. This initiative to increase domestic resource mobilization in developing countries is not a specific program, but a policy commitment to increase programming to support developing countries to increase their generation of additional public revenues, recognizing that official development assistance (ODA) alone cannot sufficiently finance the post-2015 international development agenda.
Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
Partner: International Development Research Centre
Funding: $16 million (2015–2020)
Project Description: As part of the efforts of the Global Financing Facility (GFF) to contribute to universal registration by 2030, Canada will establish the new Centre of Excellence for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics at Canada’s International Development Research Centre. By improving the quality and availability of data on every birth, death, cause of death and marriage, GFF-supported countries will be able to better monitor and track their investments in MNCH.
Partner: World Vision Canada
Funding: $20 million (2015–2020)
Project Description: This initiative seeks to reduce preterm births and newborn deaths from preterm complications in Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Mali. Canada, in its ongoing leadership on MNCH, is providing an up-front anchor investment to fund World Vision Canada as the lead partner in a consortium with Plan Canada and Save the Children Canada in order to create momentum for other contributions to join, including potential contributions from the private sector. Canada has also successfully leveraged a $10-million contribution from Johnson & Johnson in support of this initiative.
Partner: World Bank Group
Funding: $20 million (2015–2016)
Project Description: The Health System Bonds Program has been created to complement Canadian investments in GFF-supported countries by increasing the availability of financial resources to close the funding gap for MNCH in countries where there is the greatest need. The program’s main objective is to reduce maternal and child mortality, which is in line with Canada’s top development priority of strengthening MNCH.
Partner: World Bank Group
Funding: $20 million (2015–2017)
Project Description: Canada’s support to this initiative will help reduce the burden of disease by purchasing and distributing insecticide-treated bed nets for mothers and children under age five, a key component of the fight against malaria. Disease reduction is an important part of Canada’s efforts to improve MNCH outcomes in high-burden countries.
- Health and Education Programming in Bangladesh
Partners: World Bank Group/Government of Bangladesh
Funding: $64 million (five years) to the World Bank Group; $64 million (five years) to the Government of Bangladesh
Project Description: Canada is supporting the World Bank Group’s Health, Population and Nutrition Sector Development Program and the Government of Bangladesh’s Primary Education Development Program III to improve the quality of health and primary education throughout the country. Canada’s support to these programs will improve health services provided by the public health-care system, including reducing child mortality rates, and will improve learning achievements of children, including increasing primary school completion rates.
Improving Nutrition
- Better Nutrition for Better Lives
Partner: Micronutrient Initiative
Funding: $100 million (2015–2020)
Project Description: Canada’s investment in this global initiative will help advance Canada’s top development priority of strengthening MNCH by providing life-saving nutrition interventions for women, newborns and children. The Micronutrient Initiative is Canada’s flagship global nutrition partner.
- Integrated Nutrition Project in Kolda and Kédougou (Senegal)
Partner: Micronutrient Initiative
Funding: $20 million (2015–2020)
Project Description: Canada’s contribution to this initiative will support efforts to increase nutrition, particularly for women and children, in the Kolda and Kédougou regions of Senegal.
- Support to Child Survival (Ethiopia)
Partner: Micronutrient Initiative
Funding: $9.93 million (2014–2016)
Project Description: Canada’s support toward this project will help improve the access of 2.2 million Ethiopian children to highly effective care to prevent and treat malnutrition.
- Market-based Solutions to Preventing Undernutrition
Partner: World Food Programme
Funding: $50 million (2016–2020)
Project Description: Canada’s contribution will support the purchase of Supercereal Plus, a nutrition commodity to be manufactured for the first time in Africa and used in the World Food Programme’s (WFP’s) food assistance programming in 11 African countries. The WFP and the Clinton Health Access Initiative are partnering with the private sector, agriculture producers and African governments to establish commercially sustainable factories in Ethiopia and Rwanda to produce Supercereal Plus. With Canada’s support, the factories will supply local, regional and export consumer markets. The WFP anticipates reaching 4.1 million children per year with the Supercereal Plus produced in the three factories.
- Integrated Approach to MNCH in Rural Ethiopia
Partner: Save the Children Canada
Funding: $29.9 million (2015–2020)
Project Description: Canada’s contribution to this initiative will help improve the nutritional status of children under five and pregnant and lactating women in rural Ethiopia through increased access to nutritious food and quality nutrition services, as well as water and sanitation services.
- Reducing Malnutrition in Mothers and Children (Ethiopia)
Partner: CARE Canada
Funding: $20 million (2015–2020)
Project Description: With Canada’s support, CARE Canada’s efforts in Ethiopia will improve maternal, infant and child nutrition and caregiving practices; improve nutrition-sensitive practices, including hygiene, sanitation and water management; and strengthen the management of the Government of Ethiopia’s gender-sensitive nutrition programs and approaches at the federal and local levels.
Child Protection
- Enhancing Child Protection, Education and Economic Resilience
Partner: World Vision Canada
Funding: $11.78 million (2015–2019)
Project Description: Canada’s contribution will support World Vision Canada’s initiative to enhance child protection, education and economic resilience in refugee-hosting communities in Jordan. This project aims to respond to the evolving needs of Jordan amid the crisis in Syria and the region.
Partner: UNICEF
Funding: $2 million (one year)
Project Description: Canada is supporting this initiative to help mobilize global political attention and provide technical assistance to help ensure that government forces are child-free. In addition to helping reduce the recruitment and use of children as soldiers, this project will provide appropriate child protection services for the release and reintegration of girls and boys into their families and communities. The campaign is a joint initiative by UNICEF and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict.
Promoting Sustainable Economic Growth in Africa
- Value Chains for Economic Growth in Ethiopia
Partner: Mennonite Economic Development Associates
Funding: $19 million (2015–2021)
Project Description: Canada’s contribution to this initiative will help support 16,000 entrepreneurs and 275 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to generate sustainable incomes and employment. It is expected that this project will improve the performance of agricultural and gemstone producers, particularly women, resulting in increased quality production, sales and revenues; improve market linkages with MSMEs, particularly those that are women-led, resulting in improved business performance; and promote a gender-sensitive business environment, fostering growth of producers and MSMEs.
- Supporting the Ministry of Mines in Ethiopia
Partner: Canadian International Resources and Development Institute
Funding: $15.3 million (2015–2021)
Project Description: Canada’s support to this initiative will contribute to Canada’s commitment to Advancing Global Prosperity through Responsible Resource Development. The project will address critical obstacles that affect the ability of Ethiopia’s minister of mines to govern, promote and sustainably manage the mining sector, i.e. improving the licensing process, enhancing mineral data, and creating opportunities for professional development and employment, including for women.
- Enhanced Oversight of the Extractives Industry in Francophone Africa
Partner: Cowater International
Funding: $18.3 million (2015–2021)
Project Description: Canada’s support to this initiative will improve national oversight of the extractives industry in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Madagascar and Mali through auditing and monitoring, as well as provide training, technical assistance and coaching for auditors and managers.
- Support to Boosting Intra-African Trade
Partner: UN Economic Commission for Africa’s Trade Policy Centre
Funding: $13.22 million (2014–2019)
Project Description: This initiative, in partnership with a Canadian consortium led by the Centre for Trade Policy and Law, aims to reduce poverty by stimulating increased levels of intra-African trade, which would generate economic growth, create jobs and help increase the movement of foods throughout the continent.
Increasing Food Security
- Food Sufficiency for Farmers (Ethiopia)
Partner: CARE Canada
Funding: $12.5 million (2012–2017)
Project Description: Canada’s contribution to this project supports the Household Asset Building Program in eight districts in Ethiopia, a national program that supports chronically food-insecure households. This project provides the means to expand the economic base of these households and will result in thousands of families being able to meet their own food needs on a sustainable basis. This project works with local communities to increase and diversify their income and assets to create linkages to the private sector and markets.
- Support to Agricultural Growth in Ethiopia
Partners: Agriteam Canada and the World Bank Group
Funding: $15 million (2015–2020) for Agriteam Canada; $20 million (2015–2020) for the World Bank Group
Project Description: Canada is supporting two complementary initiatives that will benefit agricultural growth in Ethiopia through efforts that will increase the production of vegetables and fruit sold to market by 44 percent, directly benefiting 1.6 million farmers (40 percent of them women). Canada’s contribution is supporting Agriteam Canada’s “Support to Agricultural Growth – Capacity Development” program and the World Bank Group’s “Support to the Government of Ethiopia’s Agricultural Growth Program Phase II”.
- Reducing Barriers to Regional Trade in Food in West Africa
Partner: Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel
Funding: $5 million (2014–2020)
Project Description: With Canada’s support this initiative is increasing the volume and value of intra-regional trade in agricultural products in West Africa, leading to increased economic growth and food security within the region.
