VANCOUVER — The ONE Campaign welcomes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement today that Canada will renew and expand its global health commitment over 10 years to benefit women and girls around the world.

Stuart Hickox, the Canada Director of The ONE Campaign:

“Today’s announcement is a great step towards Canada doing its fair share and renewing its commitment on global health. This announcement builds off the global efforts of the Feminist International Assistance Policy to support programs, like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria, that are vital to ensuring the well-being of women and girls around the globe.

“We have made significant strides in women and girls’ health, but we still have work to do. Every day, 1,000 young women are infected with HIV and every year, half a million women die from TB-related causes. Canadian investments in global health are critical and a symbol of our nation’s generosity and leadership around the world.

“We applaud members of the Thrive Agenda coalition, led by CanWaCH, for helping show what is possible when we come together to invest in the health and well-being of women and girls. ONE looks forward to seeing the full details of this package, including Canada’s pledge to the Global Fund, and working to make these programs a success.”  

The Importance of Investing in Health Care for Women and Girls

The Prime Minister’s announcement today was made at the Women Deliver Conference where activists are gathered to put pressure on world leaders to make key investments in women and girls. One of those desperately needed investments is health care. In many parts of the world, for example, adolescent girls and young women are at a much greater risk of acquiring HIV than boys and men of the same age. Their heightened risk often stems from factors tied to gender discrimination, including pressure on women and girls to have unsafe sex, lack of information about protection, and the prominence of gender-based violence.

Infectious diseases disproportionately affect women and girls. Every day, 1,000 young women are infected with HIV. Today, AIDS is the number one killer of women age 15-49 globally.

The ONE Campaign is a non-partisan policy and advocacy organization of more than 9 million people around the world taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.