Today, the Prime Ministers Justin Trudeau of Canada and Andrew Holness of Jamaica, and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres convened the second High-Level event on Financing for Development in the Era of COVID 19 and Beyond.
Heads of state, governments, and international organizations met to discuss how to bolster and urgently accelerate our global response to the immediate significant economic and human impacts of COVID 19, and advance concrete solutions to international development over the medium and long-term.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Trudeau announced an additional $400 million in international development funding this year. This new funding will go to trusted partners on the ground fighting COVID 19, and will enable Canada to support the recovery and resilience of developing countries. It will also address short-term humanitarian and development needs caused by the pandemic and other crises. The ultimate objective is to ensure that the development gains made over the past decade are not lost, and ensure that 2030 Agenda and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are not at risk. Canada will make sure that women and girls, who have been disproportionally impacted by the consequences of COVID 19, benefit from this new funding.
The pandemic has caused immense social and economic distress throughout the globe but it has acutely affected low- and middle- income countries. Through the High-Level event, the global community is coming together to enable recovery and build a future that is inclusive, sustainable and resilient.
The Government of Canada continues to further global leadership on financing for international development and is investing more while supporting developing countries on their economic recoveries and resilience. The Government of Canada recently committed $220 million through the COVAX Advance Market Commitment to purchase vaccine doses for low- and middle-income countries, because we cannot beat this virus unless we end it everywhere. (PM website )