Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly in a prerecorded video message on Sept. 25, 2020. (PMO/Youtube)

Trudeau announces additional $400M for international pandemic assistance

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will commit additional $400 million in international development funding this year to help developing countries fight the COVID-19 pandemic and build resilience.

Trudeau made the announcement at a virtual United Nations meeting co-chaired by Canada, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. More than 60 world leaders participated in the virtual event, which took place on the margins of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly.

The funding will go to trusted humanitarian partners working on the ground in these countries to fight the pandemic, as well as its economic and social fallout that threatens to wipe out decades of development progress, Trudeau said.

“Global cooperation is crucial to protect people, save lives and defeat COVID-19,” Trudeau said in a statement. “Our investments will also help preserve the hard-won development gains we have made collectively that have lifted millions of people out of poverty these past decades.”

Tuesday’s announcement comes on the heels of a recent $220-million pledge Canada made through the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, promising to purchase vaccine doses for low- and middle-income countries.

Lindsay Glassco, president and CEO of Plan International Canada, welcomed Canada’s new commitments.

“As a Canadian organization working in some of the world’s most marginalized communities, we are witnessing the unraveling of decades of progress on poverty reduction and gender equality, here at home and abroad,” Glassco said in a statement.

“This pandemic has shown us how truly connected the world is and that solutions must extend beyond borders.”

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