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PM reaffirms Canada's commitment to helping the world's most vulnerable
In his address to the plenary, the Prime Minister pressed for countries to keep their promises to attain practical, durable development solutions, to deliver results on the Millennium Development Goals and to be accountable in doing so.
"Our words here today must translate into simple realities like food on the table, improved health and a better life for children around the world", said Prime Minister Harper. "Canada has a clear open and transparent record in this area and we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished."
Canada has made significant progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals and making its international assistance more effective, including:
- making Canada's international assistance more efficient and accountable by focusing on food security, children and youth, and economic growth;
- doubling support for agriculture development at last year’s G-8 Summit;
- putting in place a comprehensive international food strategy;
- untying food aid to substantially increase the effectiveness of each dollar spent;
- doubling its overall international assistance from 2001-2002 levels, totalling $5 billion in 2010-2011;
- and doubling its aid to Africa, totalling $2.1 billion in 2008-2009.
He also highlighted a number of Canada’s international achievements, including the G-8 Muskoka Initiative on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health — expected to mobilize significantly greater than $10 billion from G-8 and non-G-8 leaders, key donors and private foundations — and the G-8 aid accountability report.
The Prime Minister used the opportunity to commit an additional $540 million over three years to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This is in addition to a total of $978.4 million that Canada has committed and disbursed to the Global Fund since 2002.
