G8 Development Ministers Meeting - Backgrounder

Canada's Minister for International Cooperation, the Honourable Beverley J. Oda, hosted her G8 colleagues in Halifax April 26-28. The meeting laid the foundations for development-related discussions at the G8 Leaders Summit held in June in Muskoka.

This G8 Development Ministers meeting was also an opportunity to exchange views on international development issues more broadly. The G8 ministers and officials responsible for international development at the Halifax meeting represented France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. Invited guests from developing countries and international organizations also participated.

G8 Development Ministers' Meetings are often held in advance of the Leaders' Summit to move forward important development priorities. As noted by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, development featured prominently at this year's G8 Leaders Summit. As such, the Development Ministers' Meeting was important to further shape and inform the Leaders' discussions.

A key discussion point for delegates was be Prime Minister Harper's initiative to save the lives of millions of mothers and children under the age of five in developing countries. In 2010, it is tragic that nearly 9 million children in developing countries will die of largely preventable causes before their fifth birthday and that half a million mothers will not survive pregnancy or childbirth. Further, of all the Millennium Development Goals, MDG 5 (maternal health) the goal of reducing maternal deaths by 75 percent is the least likely to be met, while progress on MDG 4 (infant mortality) is slow. Canada is addressing both goals through its Children and Youth strategy and its focus on increasing child survival and improving maternal health.

Accountability and effectiveness of international assistance was also raised in an effort to further progress on aid effectiveness. Another key topic on the agenda included efforts to advance objectives for increased food security, which was a major outcome out of last year's G8 Summit in L'Aquila, Italy, where Prime Minister Harper announced that Canada would be doubling its investments in support of sustainable agricultural development by committing an additional $600 million over three years, bringing the total to $1.18 billion over the three-year period.

The conclusions from the Ministers' meeting was presented to the Prime Minister in advance of the G8 Muskoka Summit in June.

Information on CIDA's strategy: Securing the Future of Children and Youth.