Oxfam Canada applauds Canadian leadership to end COVID everywhere and build back better
Ottawa – Today the Prime Minster made substantive commitments to advance the fight against COVID-19 around the world and to fuel investment and action by other nations.
“We applaud Canada’s leadership at the UN General Assembly, announcing $400 million in new international assistance funding to support some of the most vulnerable communities and countries in the world,” said Kate Higgins, Oxfam Canada’s Interim Executive Director. “We are especially heartened by the clear focus on women and girls, who we know have been hardest hit by this pandemic,” noted Higgins.
Experts have called the pandemic-induced recession a “she-cession”, as women have clearly been most impacted. Oxfam published research early on in the pandemic warning that without dramatic action, the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 could push more than half a billion people into poverty and fuel already deepening hunger globally. Recognizing the deep-seated inequalities that this pandemic is worsening, Oxfam Canada has worked with allies to propose a feminist action agenda for Canada’s global response.
“Targeted feminist international assistance initiatives are needed to prevent a rollback of decades of global progress on gender equality,” said Higgins. “This increased investment in international assistance, combined with last week’s investment in the COVAX facility and the commitment to further conversations on debt relief for low and middle income countries, demonstrates laudable Canadian leadership in addressing the inequalities exacerbated by this pandemic.”
“Global challenges require global solutions, and we thank Canada for stepping up at this critical time,” said Higgins. “We look forward to working with the Government of Canada to end COVID everywhere and to build a more equal, inclusive and sustainable future for all. ”
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For more information or to arrange an interview please contact:
Paula Baker
Media Relations
Oxfam Canada
(613) 240-3047