Canada’s Commitment
Looking Ahead

One quarter of the world’s children still have no protection from ailments such as diarrhea or from common preventable diseases such as measles and malaria. Over 2 billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies such as vitamin A, iodine, and iron. More than 10 million children die annually in developing countries and millions of adults die prematurely from diseases such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

Canada's Commitment

CIDA, through its Health and Nutrition Directorate, aims to contribute to the sustainable reduction of malnutrition and disease in developing countries. In order to accomplish this goal, the program supports the delivery of basic health care services that help prevent diseases from spreading and child mortality rates from rising. To this end, CIDA has forged key partnerships to support and fund global health initiatives through partners such as UNICEF, WHO, the Red Cross, World Vision, Helen Keller International, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, and the Micronutrient Initiative. The goal is to help build and support health systems in developing countries in order to ensure that essential health services such as drugs, vaccines, nutritional supplements, and other effective, life-saving health services reach those most at risk.

CIDA’s involvement in the fight against HIV/AIDS is driven by institutions such as the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. This program has also played a lead role in creating and implementing the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and remains an important donor to this international initiative

In addition, Canada plays a leadership role in global tuberculosis (TB) control efforts. Canada was the founding donor to the Global Drug Facility and was the chair of the Stop TB Board until the end of 2005. Our TB interventions focus on high-impact initiatives designed to reach the poorest and most vulnerable populations in the 22 highest-burden countries around the world. TB is the leading cause of death for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Moreover, through this and other CIDA-sponsored work, Canada has emerged as a world leader in the effort to eliminate vitamin A deficiencies in people living in developing countries. Vitamin A deficiency costs only a few cents per child to treat. Addressing this deficiency has been scientifically demonstrated to reduce child mortality by a remarkable 23 percent on average. Iodine deficiency, the most important cause of preventable brain damage in the world, can be prevented through low-cost salt iodization programs. Since 1998, CIDA has funded salt iodization and vitamin A programs, which have saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of children worldwide. CIDA has also helped fund the Micronutrient Initiative (MI), an Ottawa-based organization whose main objective is to find and support creative solutions to eliminate micronutrient deficiencies. As well, CIDA has been involved in developing the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, an alliance of public- and private-sector organizations that seek to save lives and improve health by eliminating micronutrient deficiencies.

In partnership with UNICEF, the MI, and other agencies, CIDA has also been a leader in promoting Child Health and Nutrition Days, an initiative that integrates the delivery of vaccines, vitamin A, deworming medications, and other life-saving interventions.

Health, HIV/AIDS, and nutrition funding is targeted to address the Millennium Development Goals (MDG): #1 to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; #4 to reduce child mortality; #5 to improve maternal health; and #6 to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases.