Canada and Health - Results that make a difference

Delivering on G8 commitments

The G8 has made a number of significant commitments focused on helping developing countries strengthen health systems, improve access to basic health care, and fight infectious diseases. G8 countries have launched a number of partnerships and innovative financing mechanisms designed to develop new vaccines and provide access to treatment for infectious diseases, all of which are starting to have a real impact on results.

Canada's efforts

Canada spends an average of 25 percent of all development assistance in the health sector. This amount totalled approximately $780 million in 2008-2009.

Canada's significant financial contributions to the health sector and its policy leadership have helped improve the health of millions of people around the world. Canadian programs have contributed to progress toward the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), namely MDGs 4, 5, and 6, by focusing on:

• improving maternal, newborn and child health
• preventing and treating infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria
• strengthening health systems to provide equitable and sustainable health services for all

Recognizing that more needs to be done to reach the MDGs, Canada is building on these efforts by making maternal, newborn, and child health a critical element of its new priority of securing the future of children and youth, as well as a priority for global action at the G8 Summit in Muskoka.

Results that make a difference

Canadian support has contributed to concrete results for people around the world:

Improving maternal, newborn, and child health

Improving maternal, newborn and child health has been a significant focus of Canadian development efforts. For children, Canada has made major contributions to:

• increasing access to immunization
• providing micronutrient supplements to undernourished children
• preventing and treating leading childhood illnesses such as malaria, diarrhea, and pneumonia

On maternal health, Canada has worked to:

• increase access to family planning; antenatal, delivery, and postpartum care
• train skilled health workers to recognize and address complications during labour and delivery

For example:

• In Mozambique, through the Africa Health Systems Initiative (AHSI), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) supports the Ministry of Health's health sector strategic plan, which includes:
  • increasing the capacity of health posts to offer integrated management of childhood illnesses and basic obstetric care
  • prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV
  • youth-friendly services
• In Western Mali, Canadian support has helped increase the proportion of deliveries attended by skilled health personnel from 24 percent in 2002 to 50 percent in 2007.
• Through the Catalytic Initiative to Save a Million Lives, Canada is training and equipping health workers to prevent and treat illness and deliver health services to vulnerable groups of children and pregnant women. To date, more than 20,000 health workers in six countries have been trained.
• Canada is also partnering with the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada to improve skilled care in an effort to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity in Guatemala, Haiti, Burkina Faso, and Uganda.

Combating infectious diseases

Recognizing the devastating impact that infectious diseases have on the health of people living in developing countries, Canada has supported many initiatives to address these diseases. Canada has worked to prevent and treat major diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria, while playing a leadership role by increasing access to medicines and vaccines for tuberculosis and polio.

For example:

• Canada has committed $978.4 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria since the fund's creation in 2002. To date, programs supported by the Global Fund are estimated to have saved 4.9 million lives.
• In two districts in Zimbabwe, Canada's support has helped ensure that 85 percent of at-risk babies born in health centres receive treatment to prevent HIV.
• CIDA-financed expansion of tuberculosis treatment has led to approximately four million additional treatments, averting over half a million deaths.

Canada is also a significant donor to immunization programs, which protect millions of children from disease.

• Since 1998, Canada has committed approximately $146 million to the Canadian International Immunization Initiative. This initiative supports partners such as UNICEF, the World Health Organization,  and the Canadian Public Health Association to strengthen national immunization systems and increase immunization coverage rates at the national and district levels.

Strengthening health systems

Much of Canada's programming aims at strengthening health systems to provide health services to mothers, newborns and children. Canada recognizes that to ensure disease-specific gains are sustainable, the national health systems of developing country partners must be strengthened to provide comprehensive, accessible, and equitable health services.

At the 2006 G8 Summit, Canada announced the AHSI, a 10-year, $450-million program to support African-led efforts to strengthen health systems and make concrete progress toward the MDGs in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to expanding the reach of basic health services to the most vulnerable and improving health information systems, AHSI prioritizes mobilizing and training front-line health workers.

For information on specific projects, search CIDA's Project Browser.