New Centre of Excellence for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics to be hosted in Canada
July 13, 2015 – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
The Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, today announced Canada’s commitment in support of the Global Financing Facility (GFF) in Support of Every Woman Every Child’s efforts to improve the quality of vital statistics in the developing world by 2030. Dr. Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group, announced the creation of the New Centre of Excellence for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics. Minister Paradis confirmed that this centre will be housed at the International Development Research Centre in Canada. Canada also committed millions of dollars to initiatives in support of maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH).
Strengthened Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems allow developing countries to better monitor and track their investments in MNCH by improving the quality and availability of data on every birth, death, cause of death and marriage.
A key aim of the GFF is to mobilize private sector resources that, in addition to public sector resources, will help to close gaps in the financing of essential interventions required to improve the health of women and children. To this end, the GFF is partnering with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to raise funds from capital markets for countries with significant funding gaps for reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health.
Minister Paradis therefore announced Canada’s support for two initiatives focused on two areas. The first one, through Canada’s contribution to the Health Systems Bond Program, prioritizes the strengthening of front-line health systems and scaling-up of community health workers. It allows the World Bank to leverage a bond, which has the potential to become the largest social impact bond ever. The other initiative focuses on the control of malaria to reduce child mortality. These monies will be used as performance payments to countries, due upon the achievement of agreed-to outcomes, significantly reducing countries’ borrowing costs while providing incentives for performance. Further investments in the partnership between the GFF and the IBRD will unlock significantly more resources from the private sector: the objective is to raise up to $1 billion in private capital.
Minister Paradis also confirmed Canada’s partnership with Johnson & Johnson to help reduce preterm births and newborn deaths from preterm complications.
Through these efforts, Canada and key partners are taking monumental strides to end preventable maternal and child deaths within a generation.
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