Should Canada Invest in Global Health Right Now?

Results Canada's call to action in March 2025 is to #TogetherWeLead

Results Canada's March 2025 Call to Action focuses on the US halting international aid and how Canada can step up to lessen the impact on the countries that need our help.

This is a critical evaluation of Results Canada's March 2025 Call to Action

How has the US's stoppage of international aid already impacted humans? Here is a quick story of American doctor Jennifer Furin.

"In a small hospital in rural Burundi, for instance, warehouses of food were locked, and medical supplies vanished without warning. American doctor Jennifer Furin is fighting to save malnourished children with dwindling supplies of therapeutic food. She has the impossible and unacceptable task of choosing who gets to eat and who does not." (Results Canada, 2025)

How does Results Canada want Canada to step up?

"The ask: We call on the government of Canada to sustain and increase the International Assistance Envelope in 2025 to solidify global leadership and address the ongoing global gaps in immunization, nutrition, and education worldwide to ensure a more stable, equitable, and prosperous world." (Results Canada, 2025)

How can we do this as a country?

-Invest money

-Step up as a leader in the upcoming G7 meeting in Alberta this June.

An example of how Canada is already stepping up: Ukraine

The US has stopped all help to Ukraine and has insulted President Zelensky on numerous occasions. Canada, on the other hand, has declared continued support for Ukraine and President Zelensky following the meeting between President Zelensky and the US president.

Pros and Cons

Cons:

Canadians also need help right now, food insecurity is rampant in Canada and a large majority of our resources need to go to helping struggling Canadians.

We are close to an election making political decisions difficult during this time.

Pros:

Even though Canada has a food insecurity problem it is possible to address more than one problem even if it is done without a large budget.

The nearby election is a motivator for us to make all the politicians know what Canadians care about and what we value as a country.

Canada is a privileged country and it is a Canadian value to help those in need.

Final Thoughts:

Though the current political climate in Canada is a mess with an election approaching and a trade war with the US, Canada has diplomatic power and influence to encourage the mobilization of help from other countries. Canada along with other countries can help lessen the gap that has been created with the US backing out of their aid. To help visualize, the US was supplying 42% of all global health funding. They have now pulled ALL funding which has left millions of people to miss out on critical vaccinations and TB assistance.

References:

March: #TogetherWeLead

International development isn’t just an act of solidarity – it’s a strategic investment in global stability and prosperity.

Results CanadaResults Canada

This Article was originally posted on kaylaamaro.ghost.io a site that is now unavailable but all copywrites remain to Kayla Amaro, the owner of both sites.