Sajjan Continues $2.3B Foreign Spending Spree
Editor’s note: One day after posting this article, Sajjan – accompanied again by Kayabaga – announced an additional $213 million for Tanzania. This includes $23 million to UNICEF and the World Health Organization to implement projects in the country that will “integrate COVID-19 vaccination into routine health services.” Tanzania also received $127 million from Global Affairs Canada in the fiscal year 2021-22.
Canada’s Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, Harjit Sajjan, ponied up another $200 million in funding for 15 projects outside Canada last week.
Officials proclaim the funding will “uphold and promote” the health and rights of women and girls.
Sajjan announced the new funding at a panel discussion during the 2023 Women Deliver Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, bringing the total amount of money the minister has sent out of the country to more than $2.3 billion so far this year.
Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, and Arielle Kayabaga, MP for London West joined Sajjan at the conference. The trio highlighted Canada’s “continued leadership and support” for – as Global Affairs puts it – the advancement of gender equality, as well as its support for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and victims of sexual violence.
The projects fall within Canada’s “SheSOARS” initiative (Strengthening Opportunities in Accessing Reproductive Services), launched by Sajjan in June.
As per the federal government, the projects are being implemented through global, multilateral, and Canadian civil society organizations and are part of Canada’s "10-year Commitment to Global Health and Rights."
“In the face of a growing backlash against women’s rights, it is more important than ever that we support the bodily autonomy of women and girls. Canada is ramping up efforts in neglected, under-funded and over-politicized areas of SRHR that evidence shows will save lives, support the empowerment of diverse groups of women and girls, and contribute to gender equality,” said Sajjan following the initiative’s launch.
“In this vein, Canada is proudly prioritizing family planning, safe abortion and post-abortion care, comprehensive sexuality education, advocacy for SRHR, and preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence, with a focus on Africa.”
At the time, officials said more details would be provided at the Women Deliver conference. Jumping forward a month to the revealing of those details, Global Affairs says, of the $200 million, $35 million was allocated to the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage, and $3 million to the Girls Not Brides Project.
Kayabaga announced a $10 million allocation for MSI’s Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Project, which aims to provide women and girls in Africa, Asia, and Latin America with “sexual and reproductive health services every year.”
Kayabaga also announced $25 million in funding for a project with the International Development Research Centre to “scale up solutions” for women’s unpaid care work, as well as an additional $5 million for Oxfam Canada’s Time to Care project, which “addresses gender norms and supports progressive care policies.”
“I was pleased to see the many new initiatives take shape, leading to more investments and stronger partnerships,” said Kayabaga.
“I am committed to continue advocating for pathways to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights, in Canada and everywhere. Women deserve the right to choose for their bodies and as a leader, it is our duty to protect these essential human rights.”
As for the funding not previously detailed, it goes as follows:
$29 million to Uplift Her, a project run by CARE Canada. Global Affairs says the project will “improve gender and adolescent responsive services in sexual and reproductive health and nutrition.”
$20 million to Gender Innovation and Regional Learning, run by World Bank. Global Affairs says this project will “empower adolescent girls by addressing discriminatory norms and attitudes that contribute to gender inequalities.”
$19.7 million to Todas Avante, run by Plan International. Global Affairs says the project “aims to increase the realization of SRHR for diverse adolescent girls and young women.”
$15.2 million to a project run by the Canadian Red Cross Society.
$12.1 million to Consortium International Medical Corps and Santé monde.
$10 million to Ipas Global.
$8.7 million to the International Bureau for Children’s Rights.
Another $7.5 million to UNFPA.
$5 million to the World Food Programme.
$5 million to UNDP Sri Lanka.
$4.8 million to Ipas RDC.
$5.2 million to Oxfam Canada.
Sajjan met with several Rwandan government representatives at the conference, including Rwanda’s Minister of Health, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana. Global Affairs says the discussion centered around how Rwanda tackles health-related challenges and Canada’s Technical Assistance Partnership program.
Sajjan and Kayabaga also met with Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Dr. Ildephonse Musafiri, to discuss “Rwandan priorities” in agriculture and Canada’s approach to agriculture and food security under its Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP).
Money not Tracked, Says Auditor General
Calling climate action a pillar of the FIAP, Global Affairs says “research has shown” that climate change and environmental degradation disproportionately affects women and girls.
However, in addition to not citing the actual research, Global Affairs doesn’t know whether the funding is improving gender equality, according to a recent report from Auditor General Karen Hogan.
Highlighting “significant weaknesses” in record keeping, Hogan told reporters that the “department was unable to show us how the money invested was actually improving the lives of women and girls.”
Tabled in Parliament in March, the report concluded Global Affairs does not effectively track the annual $3.5 billion in bilateral aid it provides, noting flaws in its information management practices.
“This resulted in incomplete or missing project files, making it impossible for the department to accurately track and report the overall outcomes of funded projects against the goals stated in the policy,” said the Office of the Auditor General of Canada in a statement.
“In addition, annual reports to Parliament on international assistance captured results for about half of funded projects and did not reflect long-term outcomes.”
Hogan said it is imperative that Global Affairs “act immediately” to improve its information management practices.
The Office of the Auditor General told Coastal Front that Global Affairs committed to providing quarterly updates on its progress regarding the improvement of its information management, but didn’t provide further details.
‘Initiatives are Designed to Advance Gender Equality’
Considering Hogan said changes were needed "immediately," Coastal Front asked Global Affairs what changes, if any, were made after the report, as well as how the new funding's efficacy is measured.
“Global Affairs Canada has a long-standing mandatory due diligence process to ensure initiatives are designed to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls,” a spokesperson for Global Affairs, James Wanki, told Coastal Front.
Wanki highlighted that Global Affairs agreed to the recommendations made in the report and that "a plan has been put in place" to review the department’s current approaches.
The department also established a "program team" dedicated to delivering the 5-year Grants and Contributions Transformative Initiative, added Wanki. He says the initiative will streamline and modernize Global Affairs’ grants and contributions system.
Further, Wanki says Global Affairs brought together 150 participants in May from various organizations to explore ways to transform how the department allocates money. A month later, during the National Risk-Appetite Hackathon, Wanki highlights that more than 300 people “exchanged ideas aimed at making Canada’s approach to managing risks in international assistance stronger, better, and more efficient.”
Wanki briefly explained to Coastal Front that the feedback gathered from those two events will shape Global Affairs’ “broader path towards transformation until 2028.”
“The objective is to minimize the administrative burden for organizations without compromising the values of accountability and the overall legislative framework for delivering international assistance, improving risk assessments, and making performance data timelier and easier to share,” he said, reiterating that the "Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that information on its international assistance funding is open and transparent.”
As for how the department is measuring the efficacy of last week’s funding, Wanki says “partner organizations” that implement Global Affairs’ international assistance projects are “primarily responsible” for collecting and analyzing data and assessing performance.
Canada also takes part in the OECD Development Co-operation Peer Reviews, a “peer-led evaluation” of each OECD Development Assistance Committee member that takes place every five years.
Canada’s last peer review took place in 2018, and the next is expected to start in 2024. It won’t be made public until 2025.
Keeping in line with recent years, Global Affairs is committed to ensuring Canada is a top-ten provider of developmental assistance, as well as a top-ten provider to UN funds and programs, as per its 2023-24 departmental plan.
Image courtesy Twitter/@HarjitSajjan
