An extra $60 million a year to Canadian corporations that invest in 'Africa" does not make up for the Government’s failure to increase aid funding in the 2017 budget.
Morneau has the funds to establish a Development Finance Institution but in the meantime what happens to the 50 million children who can’t go to school because there are insufficient funds?
Funds are needed NOW to build schools, train teachers, buy supplies AND to put into place anti-poverty tools to support local initiatives such as a development finance institution (DFI). It is not an either/or situation. The developing world needs both and Canada must do both. The desperate need for children to go to school must be a more important priority for Canada’s foreign aid. Click here to read what Minister Morneau has to say.
http://grandmothersadvocacy.org
grandmothersadvocacy@gmail.com
We can take action to support the vaccination of all children under five years of age by signing an e-petition on the Parliamentary website; write to our MP’s; or tweet our support. The attached article contains all the information you need to support whatever action you choose. Click here
Leaving Nobody Behind: The Crucial Role of Vaccines in Child Health
“The challenge before us is reaching, with the miracle of vaccines, the 1.5 million disadvantaged children under five who still die every year from diseases we can prevent.”– Anthony Lake, Executive Director, UNICEF
http://grandmothersadvocacy.org
grandmothersadvocacy@gmail.com
GRANs may be disappointed that last week’s budget provided no increase to Official Development Assistance (ODA), but we remain persistent and optimistic, remembering the words of Mahatma Gandhi:
“It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. .. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”
Read the statement on the budget by our ally, RESULTS Canada:
Our goal continues to be ensuring that Canadian government supports policies and programs that improve living conditions for African grandmothers and their communities.
http://grandmothersadvocacy.org
grandmothersadvocacy@gmail.com
Friday March 24 marks World Tuberculosis Day. A curable disease, tuberculosis (TB) remains a great scourge of human history. It is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide. Over 95% of TB deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. The risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) is estimated to be between 26 and 31 times greater in people living with HIV than among those without HIV infection. As we approach World TB Day 2017, we share the grueling journeys of men and women with multi-drug resistant TB in Swaziland, their suffering, the impact on their lives and their families.
MSF Access Campaign congratulates civil society groups for their work in helping John Hopkins University to make a decision to license their patent to the Medicines Patent Pool. People power improves access to medicines!
Tweet or share on facebook to help share the news.
Let's Get 130 million Girls into School!
Each girl who cannot go to school today is a precious daughter and grandaughter. As we celebrate all the advances that have made in recent years we cannot forget each girl who is still waiting. Each waits for books, schools, teachers, peace, …. Watch the short video and join the count.
March 8th is International Women’s Day, a day for us to once again remind ourselves of the situation for women in Sub-Saharan Africa. All around the globe we see examples of gender inequality, but they can be particularly glaring in that part of the world. Older women frequently have no pensions, few -- if any -- property rights, and very limited access to affordable medicines for chronic diseases that affect us all as we age. Younger women and girls often find that medicines to treat HIV/AIDS are unavailable to them, even though they are the demographic with the highest percentage of new infections. Personal safety and access to education are significant challenges for African women of all ages. Let’s remember why we advocate on their behalf!
Here is a wonderful blog posting from Help Age International
For Signing the Safe Schools Declaration
This February Canada became the 59th country to sign on to the Safe Schools Declaration, an international political commitment to protect students, teachers, and schools from attack in times of armed conflict. By endorsing the declaration, Canada sends a strong message on the urgency to act together to protect schools from attack and military use and to defend children's access to education.
Read more on Canada's policy here
Canada plays a very active and important role in the work of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). Julia Gillard, Board Chair of the GPE, reflects on her recent visit to Canada in February in this informative blog. Click here to read more:
Apr 12, 2024
“Canada’s ongoing support for gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls, a greener economy and economic resilience in Africa is unwavering. My recent visit to Benin and the Democratic... Read more
Apr 10, 2024
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday in favour of a group of more than 2000 older women from Switzerland who had argued that their government's inadequate efforts to combat... Read more
Mar 21, 2024
Tremendous politicized hype and disinformation have been hitting the airwaves and social media lately around Canada's climate policies and, in particular, carbon pricing. Climate policies have... Read more