Canada positioned to be a world leader
By Letter to the Editor on February 19, 2021.
Editor:
The human cost of Covid-19 is devastating. In 2021, the estimate is that 150 million additional people will have been pushed into poverty. The pandemic affects all of us and no one is more at risk than children. UNICEF reports that 10,000 more children will die from hunger each month.
Canada can help mitigate these effects by investing in the Global Financing Facility (GFF) for women, children and adolescents. A relatively new tool, GFF is a multi-stakeholder global partnership housed at the World Bank. It supports health and nutrition interventions in the most vulnerable countries. The beauty of GFF is that it aligns partners in country-led plans and programs of development seeking to close health equity gaps.
As a member of a University of Calgary advisory team, I have personally witnessed a successful partnership approach supported by CIDA, working with select countries in Central and South America (1990-1997) to assist pregnant mothers and newborns in health and development.
By investing CAD $250 million over 3 years in the GFF, Canada is positioned to reduce poverty and inequity. Let’s encourage Canada to take a leadership role in this partnership aligned approach with developing countries.
Nina Hrycak, PhD, MEd. BScN
Calgary
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