6a Canada in International Health

Question 1

What is Canada’s Government Statement on Foreign Policy Mandate?

Answer 1

“The purpose of Canada’s Official Development Assistance is to support sustainable development in developing countries, in order to reduce poverty and to contribute to a more secure, equitable and prosperous world”.

Question 2

What are the major determinants of health in developing countries?

Answer 2

Status of women
Illiteracy and low education
Poverty and inequity
Rapid population growth and rural-urban  migration
Malnutrition
Squatter settlements and poor housing
Environmental degradation

Question 3

What are some major health challenges in developing countries for children?

Answer 3

diarrhea, respiratory infections, vaccine-preventable diseases, child labour, street kids

Question 4

What are some major health challenges in developing countries that are pandemics?

Answer 4

TB, STDs and HIV/AIDS, malaria, tobacco, injury and violence

Question 5

What are some major health challenges in developing countries (in general)?

Answer 5

• Women’s health; gender inequality, maternal mortality, anaemia, genital mutilation
• Children (childhood illnesses)
• Protein-energy and micronutrient malnutrition
• Pandemics

Question 6

What are some opportunities for improvement (global health)?

Answer 6

The global village.
Wave of democratization.
The information age and global telecommunications.
Global governance: international conference and summits.

Question 7

What are some problems facing global health?

Answer 7

Government debt in the South and in the North
- falling official development assistance (ODA)
- structural adjustment: impact on education and health care sectors
Political instability, regional conflicts, refugees and displaced populations
Natural disasters, drought and climate change

Question 8

What was the United Nations Millennium Declaration (Sept. 2000)?

Answer 8

Leaders from 189 nations.
Vision for a world in which developed and developing countries would work in partnership for the betterment of all, particularly the most disadvantaged

Question 9

To whom does the goal statement, “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women, and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty” belong?

Answer 9

Millennium Development Goals

Question 10

What are the 8 Millennium Development Goals?

Answer 10

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
2. Achieve universal primary education.
3. Promote gender equality and empower women.
4. Reduce child mortality.
5. Improve maternal health.
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases.
7. Ensure environmental sustainability.
8. Develop a global partnership for development.

Question 11

What are the criteria for choosing which countries to focus our aid on?

Answer 11

Needs
Ability to benefit meaningfully from Canada’s assistance
Alignment with Canada’s foreign policy

Question 12

What are the priority themes for Canada’s role in international health?

Answer 12

Increased food security.
Securing the future of children and youth.
Stimulating sustainable economic growth.

Question 13

What are the focuses of food security?

Answer 13

Food aid and nutrition.
Sustainable agricultural development, particularly for small-scale farmers and women.
Research and development.

Question 14

What are the focuses of children and youth?

Answer 14

Child survival, including maternal health.
Access to quality education.
Safe and secure futures for children and youth.

Question 15

What are the focuses of economic growth?

Answer 15

Building economic foundations.
Growing businesses.
Investing in people.

Question 16

Who works to implement Canada’s strategies to improve global health?

Answer 16

Canadian NGOs (Non-government organizations).
Universities and private firms.
Health Canada and provincial ministries of health.
Developing country partners.
International agencies and NGOs.

Question 17

What do organizations do/give to implement the strategies (of Canada improving international health)?

Answer 17

Canadian technical expertise, essential drugs, contraceptives and supplies, direct grants

Question 18

What is Health Partners International of Canada?

Answer 18

Health Partners International of Canada is a not-for-profit relief and development organization that works
through partnerships to increase access to medicine and improve health in the developing world.

Question 19

What is IDRC (International Development Research Centre)? What do they do?

Answer 19

IDRC: The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is a Crown corporation created by the Parliament of Canada in 1970 to help developing countries use science and technology to find practical, long-term solutions to the social, economic, and environmental problems they
face. Support is directed toward creating a local research community whose work will build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies.

Question 20

What are some development achievements that have occurred in the last 30 years globally?

Answer 20

Child death rate has been cut in half.
Smallpox has been eradicated.
80% of children are immunized against major childhood killers.
More people are literate than illiterate.
Twice as many people have access to safe water.
Life expectancy has risen from 46 to 63 years.

Question 21

What are some ways to make sure aid is effective?

Answer 21

Aid must get to the right people.
Required long-term committment.
Works best when people affected are involved.
Must focus on reducing poverty.

Question 22

How much did the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 a day decrease between 1990 and 2010?

Answer 22

In developing regions, the proportion of people living on less than $1.25 a day fell from 47% in 1990 to 22% in 2010.

Question 23

How many people gained access to improved sources of drinking water between 1990 and 2010?

Answer 23

The proportion of the global population using such sources reached 89% in 2010, up from 76% in 1990.

Question 24

How much did mortality rates from malaria decrease between 2000 and 2010?

Answer 24

Between 2000 and 2010, mortality rates from malaria fell by more than 25% globally.

Question 25

How much are death rates from tuberculosis expected to decrease between 1990 and 2015?

Answer 25

Death rates from tuberculosis at the global level and in several regions are likely to be halved by 2015, compared to 1990 levels.

Question 26

How much has the number of children not receiving primary education declined between 2000 and 2011?

Answer 26

Between 2000 and 2011, the number of children out of school declined by almost half - from 102 million to 57 million.

Question 27

Have financial contributions to aid programs increased or decreased over recent years, and how much?

Answer 27

In 2012, bilateral official development assistance to these countries fell by 13%, to about $26 billion

Question 28

How much of Canada’s GNI (Gross national income) did Canada’s Parliament resolve to increase its aid commitment to by 2015?

Answer 28

0.7% of GNI

Question 29

When are we expected to actually reach the goal of 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) to international aid at the current rate of increase?

Answer 29

2035

Question 30

What was foreign aid frozen at in 2010? (dollars and percent of GNI)

Answer 30

When foreign aid was frozen at $5.16 billion in 2010, that translated into 0.34% of the country’s gross national income.

Question 31

What was the closest Canada has come to its goal of 0.7% GNI contribution to foreign aid?

Answer 31

Canada has never come near the 0.7% target, but it did hit 0.5% in 1986-1987 under Brian Mulroney.