Government of Canada

Focus on the Future - The Legacy of the Canada Fund for Africa

Group of men and women © Cpl Issa Paré, Rideau Hall, Ottawa, Ontario
African members of parliament
meet with Her Excellency the Right Honourable
Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, to discuss parliamentary strengthening, African development issues, and African relations with Canada.
A new approach to development
Results of the fund
Challenges
Looking to the future
Appendix: The fund at a glance

In 2002, Canada launched the Canada Fund for Africa, an innovative initiative to support African-led development. The fund yielded significant results during its term and continues to have an impact, both in Africa and Canada. This publication looks at some of the ways that the fund has left its mark and at how it has contributed to achieving the development priorities of the people of Africa.

The African vision: a landmark consensus

Africans are taking charge of their future. Guided by a new vision-a landmark consensus on how to reduce poverty known as the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)-, Africans are making clear and concrete advances in a wide range of areas. Through NEPAD, they have created an opportunity for the world to join them in addressing the challenges to economic growth, institutional development, and democratic governance that are key to progress across the continent.

Canada and other G81 member countries seized that opportunity with the launch of the G8 Africa Action Plan. The Canada Fund for Africa was one of the Government of Canada's responses in support of the G8 plan. It reflects the importance of helping Africa reach its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets in poverty reduction, education, health, equality between men and women, global partnerships, and environmental sustainability.

The Canada Fund for Africa also played a key role in helping Canada meet its commitment to double aid to Africa from $1.05 billion in 2003-2004 to $2.1 billion by 2008-2009. This commitment was reconfirmed before the international community at the G8 Summit in Heilingendamm, Germany, in 2007. Under its priority to provide leadership abroad in its 2008 budget, the Government of Canada repeated this commitment and pledged that Canada would be the first G8 country to double its aid to Africa by 2008-2009.


A new approach to development


The Canada Fund for Africa complemented ongoing Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) programming, where major successes in areas such as basic education, life-saving therapies for HIV/AIDS, poverty reduction, and democratization have improved the lives of millions of Africans. The Canada Fund for Africa was new and different because:

It stressed African ownership, leadership, and control

The Canada Fund for Africa supported priorities identified by African leaders, African institutions, and African communities.
  • The Canada Fund for Africa was based on NEPAD priorities, and projects such as Strengthening the Peace and Security Capacity of the African Union and Support to the African Peer Review Mechanism directed funding to activities chosen by the partner institutions.
  • It stressed a strong role for communities in decision-making, setting priorities, and assessing the effectiveness of government programming. For example, in the Africa-Canada Parliamentary Strengthening Program, local communities in Uganda were consulted for their assessments of the government's HIV/AIDS program and their responses integrated into recommendations to the Ugandan Parliament.
  • It emphasized local control and ownership, ensuring that its partners set their own priorities and, where possible, used their own systems and processes to carry out projects. In the Sub-Regional Program: Small Arms and Light Weapons, once communities surrendered their arms, they identified and received funding for community development projects, such as the construction of health and education facilities, and for small businesses in agricultural processing, brick making, and production of dyes.
It introduced innovative and strategic investments with a long-term approach

The Canada Fund for Africa used innovative and strategic programming approaches to ensure long-term effects.
  • The Canada Fund for Africa contributed $100 million to create the Canada Investment Fund for Africa (CIFA), a public-private risk capital fund that combines profitable investments with corporate social responsibility. It has not only invested in African businesses, it has also supported school construction, water supply systems, and road improvements in the communities where it invested.
  • It provided funding in strategic areas such as research in biosciences and HIV vaccines. For example, training and equipping of research facilities has enabled African scientists to carry out five trials on Africa-specific strains of HIV in the search for an effective vaccine in the HIV/AIDS Vaccine Research and Development project.
  • Its perspective was future-oriented, testing new programming and partnership approaches for application on a wider scale and over the longer term. For example, the Enablis Entrepreneurial Network model of business development, originally implemented in South Africa, has now expanded to other regions including East Africa (Kenya).
It served as a catalyst for other donor investments and partnerships

The Canada Fund for Africa took a calculated risk as the first and, sometimes only, donor for new investments that are now being supported and recognized by other donors. Examples include Support to the African Peer Review Mechanism, Enablis, and CIFA.
  • Canada is the lead donor of the NEPAD Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (IPPF), having committed $10 million to create it in 2003. The IPPF assists African countries and regional economic communities and institutions to solicit financing for viable infrastructure projects in energy, transport, information and communications technologies, and water. Other donors, such as Denmark, Germany, Norway, and the United Kingdom, have followed Canada's lead with an additional US$25 million to the IPPF. Donors such as Italy, Spain, and Sweden have also indicated an interest in contributing. Of the four project preparation proposals so far completed under the IPPF, three-the Kenya-Uganda oil pipeline, the Benin-Togo-Ghana electrical interconnection, and the Zambia-Tanzania-Kenyan Power Interconnection-have attracted investments of over US$230 million in those countries.
  • It leveraged its support to identify new sources of funding. Canada was the first donor to contribute to the African Water Facility, which pools donor resources to finance water infrastructure and facilitate water investment activities in Africa. Canadian leadership, both in contributing funds and in supporting and encouraging global, national, and local partners to work together, has leveraged an additional $350 million from other donors, including Africans, to fund projects across the continent.
  • It stressed the formation and maintenance of partnerships, coalitions, and networks to share knowledge and experience, achieve economies of scale, and multiply outreach. For example, in the Canadian Coalition on Youth and HIV/AIDS in Africa project, a coalition of Canadian organizations pooled their resources to deliver HIV/AIDS programming, share best practices, and reduce administration costs in the field, enabling them to reach many more people than if they had worked alone.
It took a whole-of-government approach

As the lead partner, CIDA called upon the expertise, networks, and facilitation roles of a number of key federal government departments to co-manage several of the fund's initiatives. This included collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) in the West Africa Peace and Security Initiative and CIFA, and Industry Canada in the e-Policy Resource Network for Africa website, the Connectivity Africa and the Enablis Entrepreneurial Network projects. The Biosciences eastern and central Africa project used the expertise of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and other Canadian federal agencies to develop bio-safety standards for the project's research facilities.

Five women seat on a stage and listen to another one making a speech © Chuck Russell/Federation of Canadian Municipalities
The launch of the African Women in Local
Governance Network is an initiative of
the African Local Governance Program.
African participants created the Network
to lobby for the inclusion of more women
in local government and greater attention
to gender issues in local development
strategies and programs.
Not only did the Canada Fund for Africa work with other government departments and agencies, it also worked with other CIDA divisions, such as the Multilateral Programs Branch for the Polio Eradication Program (with the World Health Organization and UNICEF) and the Research on Agricultural Productivity project (with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR]). Those collaborations helped the two branches coordinate their operations, particularly those related to accountability. The Canada Fund for Africa also had an opportunity to collaborate with colleagues in the Canadian Partnership Branch (CPB). For example, the African Local Governance Program leverages CPB's previous investments in the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Municipal Partnership Program in Africa through linkages between the two programs, working with common local partners and sharing knowledge and experience.


Results of the fund


The Canada Fund for Africa's initiatives were designed to accelerate progress in areas identified by African leaders as priorities: governance, peace and security, trade and investment, health, agriculture, environment and water resource management, and integration of information and communications technologies. In each of these areas, CIDA integrated the four distinct Canada Fund for Africa approaches-African ownership, innovative programming, providing a catalyst for investment/partnerships, and taking a whole-of-government approach-to accelerate progress and ensure a lasting impact.

From 2002 to 2008, the financial and technical support provided by the Canada Fund for Africa has achieved some remarkable results, including:

Governance
  • With support from the Africa-Canada Parliamentary Strengthening Program, African parliamentarians have created an anti-corruption network that now has 20 national chapters. In four countries, eight pieces of legislation dealing with transparency and accountability issues have been passed, and two countries have ratified the African Union and United Nations (UN) anti-corruption conventions. The project has also helped increase women's participation in national politics. For example, in the 2005 election in Niger, training, awareness-raising, and production of a candidate's guide for women contributed to the election of 14 women (six of whom were named ministers), compared to only one woman in the previous election.
  • Through the African Public Sector Capacity Building Program, thousands of experts trained by the African Capacity Building Foundation in key areas such as public expenditure review, tax policy reform, economic analysis, banking and finance, and budget reform have provided technical assistance and analytical input into Tanzania's Assistance Strategy, Ghana's annual Macroeconomic Review and Outlook, and Uganda's Vision 2025.
  • More women are actively and visibly participating in local government, supported by the African Local Governance Program. For example, Ghanaian women candidates received training and support to run in the recent municipal elections; 1,786 women ran compared with 754 in the previous election, and in the Ho municipality, 15 of the 22 women candidates were elected. Women assembly members also received training and technical assistance for the establishment of a network of African Women in Local Governance as well as for the formation of national bodies such as the women's caucus within the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana. A similar women's caucus was also formed in Mali.
Peace and security
  • The UNDP's Arms for Development project supported an arms-for-development swap in Sierra Leone. Communities surrendered their weapons and received training and funds to build schools, clinics, markets, and recreational facilities. A total of 3,645 weapons were collected and these communities now live in peace and security.
  • The War-Affected Youth project has provided 3,856 boys and girls with counselling and skills training in peaceful conflict resolution, human rights, and income-generating activities such as beekeeping, tailoring, hairdressing, and computer literacy. Another million children have also benefited from stronger community organizations, more tolerant and understanding attitudes, and greater awareness about children's rights. Special attention to girls' rights has resulted in an increase in legal action; for example, support from the Canada Fund for Africa to two legal aid clinics in Burundi has enabled those clinics to provide legal aid and services related to rape, paternity search, alimony, and family inheritance to 98 young women.
  • The African Union has been able to hire experts and undertake a wide range of field missions, including providing support to peace negotiations in Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and, Somalia, with support from the Strengthening the Peace and Security Capacity of the African Union project.
  • The West African Police Project has made special efforts to integrate women into national police forces for peacekeeping operations through training and advocacy for government officials and police. Women have now been accepted into all of the national police forces in the project countries, and in early 2008, two senior women police officers from Ghana and Nigeria closely associated with this project were selected by the UN to participate in specialized leadership activities in peacekeeping operations.
Trade and investment
  • CIFA is a US$211 million joint private-public initiative that provides risk capital for private investments to generate economic growth. The Canada Fund for Africa's $100 million investment was leveraged to raise an additional $111 million in private investments. CIFA has disbursed over US$160 million for 14 investments in the mining, oil and gas, paper, manufacturing, consumer products, and financial services sectors. Those investments are achieving significant development results such as job creation, development of local infrastructure, and support to the introduction of new technologies.
  • Through the Programme for building African Capacity for Trade (PACT), emerging African exporters and export promotion organizations have received training in product development, marketing and distribution, production of marketing tools such as company websites, and support for attending trade fairs. A special program, ACCESS! for African Businesswomen in International Trade, has increased the competitiveness of over 70 enterprises, including that of Flotea Masawe of Tanzania. Sales of her company's textiles and home furnishings have turned her small one-room workshop into a four-room factory with 13 industrial machines and a workforce of 22 men and women.
  • Technical assistance supported by the NEPAD IPPF has helped planners to develop high-quality, viable sub-regional infrastructure proposals valued at $1.293 billion for an oil pipeline between Kenya and Uganda, electricity interconnection between Benin, Togo, and Ghana, and a submarine cable for the East African region, all of which are now under construction.
Health
  • More than 3.3 million people have benefited from awareness raising and provision of testing and counselling services for HIV/AIDS in target communities in four countries through the Canadian Coalition on Youth and HIV/AIDS in Africa project. Key to this achievement has been training for local organizations, government bodies, and youth groups working at the community level, which ensured that local needs were met and that the community itself-particularly youth-was mobilized for long-term, sustainable impact.
  • Through the Polio Eradication Program, more than 80 million children under the age of 5 have been immunized against polio in Africa. CIDA funds were directed specifically to the Kano area of northern Nigeria, where immunization had been suspended due to unfounded fears about vaccine safety. CIDA supported social mobilization, planning, logistics and monitoring, and recruiting and maintaining critical staff, allowing vaccinations to resume and ensuring containment of this highly infectious disease.
  • Through the Childhood Development through Sport in Refugee Camps project, over 63,000 children in Kenya and Sierra Leone are trained not only to play specific sports; they also receive instruction in life skills, conflict resolution, problem solving, and HIV/AIDS awareness. Training for 72 female coaches and the establishment of girls' leagues have been instrumental in increasing participation and self-confidence among girls in the camps.
Agriculture, environment and water
  • The UN-HABITAT Water and Sanitation Trust Fund has secured the participation of governments, stakeholders, and users to increase community awareness on water and sanitation issues and build the capacities of local water authorities to provide better services. The program has engaged 17 cities in 14 African countries, thus improving access to services for 113,450 persons. For example, in a peri-urban area of Burkina Faso, the program has contributed to the establishment of micro-credit facilities to help households access a community small-bore sewerage system. So far, 350 households have benefited from this service. In Ethiopia, eight public water points serving 5,000 persons have been built, and community women have been empowered to manage and operate these facilities. In Ghana, increased media coverage and publicity on the program's findings on reservoir water quality and the structural safety of a local dam resulted in much-awaited government action to address the safety concerns.
  • The CGIAR's Research on Agricultural Productivity project has resulted in new varieties of staple foods, which have improved both nutrition and incomes in Africa. For example, cassava yields have increased by 40 percent in Ghana and Nigeria, and new bean varieties have boosted household income by 73 percent in Rwanda and 190 percent in Tanzania.
  • A total of 980 youth, two thirds of whom are African, have participated in the Africa-Canada Eco-Leadership Program, an exchange program designed to promote youth engagement in environmental and community development projects: 579 participants have completed community development work placements, and 389 have received bursaries to develop small businesses. For example, William Dugbaza from Ghana is working with the district chief executive in his community to train young farmers to use organic manure in their farming activities.
Bridging the digital divide
  • Support to small and medium-sized enterprises in Southern Africa to integrate information technology into their businesses is leading to job creation. Enablis South Africa currently has in its network over 300 entrepreneur members, one in three of whom is a woman. The members have created over 500 new jobs and 64 percent of members have introduced a new product or service.
  • Use of personal digital assistants and a new relay system linked to a server in Kampala have increased access to health care in remote communities in Uganda. Thanks to support from Connectivity Africa, mobile health care workers can now access the latest medical information and consult via email to ensure their patients receive the best possible care.

Challenges


The goal of the Canada Fund for Africa was to help Africans build their own capacity to progress along their chosen path towards development. The Canada Fund for Africa's projects not only achieved short-term results; they also helped Africans gain and develop skills, relationships, and resources in order to position themselves to undertake many more initiatives in the future. Many of these gains were hard-won, and the challenges and lessons learned will continue to shape the projects that began under the Canada Fund for Africa, as well as other CIDA projects.

Existing organizational structures and capacities

Existing organizational structures posed initial challenges to speedy project implementation. In some cases, organizational changes, such as the transformation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) secretariat into a nine-member commission, led to delays in getting the projects off the ground. In other cases, new structures had to be established to administer the projects. Some organizations, such as the African Development Bank, had to staff new offices before project activities could begin. The innovative nature of CIFA required the Government of Canada to put in place a new framework, which required a complex international open bidding process that delayed project implementation.

Organizational capacity to implement projects also posed a challenge. Several project partners, especially ones that had never worked with CIDA, needed to strengthen their skills and adjust their processes in project management, monitoring, and evaluation to reflect CIDA's expectations. CIDA and its partners worked through these issues by building training, mentoring, and coaching on project management issues into project planning and design. Training in information technology, financial procedures, and strategic planning strengthened African partners in the Africa-Canada Eco-Leadership Program, enabling them to improve their operational efficiency, diversify their programming, and find new financial partners.

Building and sustaining partnerships

Building partnerships required more time and effort than was originally envisaged. For example, in the Partnership for Africa's Water Development project, participants included government, private sector, and civil society organizations at the international, regional, national, municipal, and even neighbourhood levels. For the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) initiative, mechanisms including consultations to ensure grassroots participation were put in place to promote and ensure sustainability and inclusiveness. The Canada Fund for Africa facilitated and supported the development of many of those partnerships. The challenge for the future is for those new networks and partnerships to remain active and undertake new initiatives as self-sufficient and sustainable organizations. Some partners, such as the African Parliamentarians Network against Corruption (APNAC), are already moving forward on this issue and have developed specific post-election strategies to rebuild national chapters. For example, following elections in Ghana, Niger, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, APNAC sent a select number of people from other chapters to jumpstart or re-create new chapters in the affected countries.

Equality between women and men

Ensuring that women and men benefited equally from the Canada Fund for Africa's initiatives proved to be a challenge in some projects. Though projects supported by the Canada Fund for Africa included provisions for gender equality, not all were able to take specific measures to make sure that those provisions were implemented. Some organizations did not have the expertise or the political commitment-at the leadership or operational level-to do so, and some projects did not have the required financial resources. The Canada Fund for Africa provided technical and financial assistance to some partners and advocated for equality between women and men during interactions with all partners, including other donors.

Short time frame

Recognizing its short time mandate, the Canada Fund for Africa supported initiatives that had life spans and/or expected results that were to continue or endure beyond the Canada Fund for Africa's contribution. Many were pilot projects, while other initiatives set up new networks or provided new skills and technologies that are now in operation. Today, all the Canada Fund for Africa's initiatives are clearly showing short-term results, such as trainees using new skills, organizations strengthening key functions, businesspeople finding new markets, and major infrastructure projects under construction.

However, realization of long-term impacts-stronger, more effective institutions, growing economies, open and free democracies, and improved health and incomes in the community-requires a much longer time frame. The Canada Fund for Africa, as a catalyst for change, has made a major contribution in those areas by laying the groundwork requested by African leaders and organizations.


Looking to the future


Although the fund is now closed, many of its initiatives live on in one form or another:

Renewed CIDA support
  • CIDA is continuing to fund a number of Canada Fund for Africa initiatives by integrating them into regular programming. These initiatives include the Support to the African Peer Review Mechanism and the Enablis Entrepreneurial Network, which have received new funding from CIDA's Pan-Africa Program. The CGIAR Research on Agricultural Productivity project, which, before the establishment of the Canada Fund for Africa, received support from CIDA's Multilateral Program, will continue to receive funding from the Multilateral Program. Other Canada Fund for Africa projects in the trade sector have received significant additional funding through an interdepartmental process.
New Government of Canada support
  • Several projects funded by the Canada Fund for Africa have also provided models for future programming in other departments. DFAIT is developing new projects with the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre based on the successes of the West African Police Project and those of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC)'s Support for Capacity Development project.
  • Given the success of CIFA, DFAIT is also exploring the possibility of establishing similar investment funding models for other strategic countries outside of Africa.
New external funding
  • Many Canada Fund for Africa partner organizations have found new financial partners to help carry on or expand activities funded by the Canada Fund for Africa. The Africa-Canada Parliamentary Strengthening Program, for example, is now receiving support from the Austrian Development Agency, and Connectivity Africa is now partnering with the United Kingdom's Department for International Development.
  • A number of projects receiving support from the Canada Fund for Africa have also received support from other international donors. Those projects include the African Water Facility (from Austria, Denmark, the European Commission, France, Norway, Spain, and Sweden); the NEPAD IPPF (from Denmark, Norway, and the United Kingdom, with additional funding under negotiation from Germany and Italy); the Multi-Donor Water Partnership Program (from Denmark and the Netherlands); and the Water and Sanitation Trust Fund (from the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden).
  • Design Africa, a project funded under PACT, inspired the South African government to fund a similar initiative over four years. This project will benefit the entire continent and will continue to support textile and interior design exporters with training, mentoring, and trade missions to new markets.
The Canada Fund for Africa was an agent for change. Built on the principles that make development assistance sustainable-local ownership, innovative programming, providing a catalyst for investment/partnerships, and taking a whole-of-government approach-the Canada Fund for Africa set in motion changes that will be felt for many years to come. Improvements have been made in concrete areas such as health, income generation, water and sanitation, and food security. Africans, particularly poor and marginalized populations, have been empowered and engaged in the development of their communities. Major infrastructure projects are under way. Research and development continues in a wide range of critical fields, including natural resource management.

However, it is in the less concrete areas-the strengthening and building of skills and institutions, the cementing of partnerships and alliances, and the commitment to innovation and good governance-that the long-term impact of the Canada Fund for Africa will be felt. The true catalyst of development is people, and the Canada Fund for Africa, by combining development projects with development of the people and institutions implementing those projects, has invested directly in the future of Africa.


Appendix: The fund at a glance


Title Budget ($M) Description Partners
Governance
Africa-Canada Parliamentary Strengthening Program 9 Training and capacity building for parliamentarians and their staff members in poverty reduction, gender equality, and fighting corruption. Parliamentary Centre, African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (APNAC), various other African partners
African Local Governance Program 6 Technical assistance to municipalities for implementing decentralization programs in areas such as legal reform, public participation, environmental sustainability, and HIV/AIDS Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), Municipal Development Partnership (MDP), various municipal associations
African Public Sector Capacity Building Program 28 Training and technical assistance for public servants in economic policy analysis, financial management and accountability, and public service management African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), World Bank
NEPAD Outreach Fund 2.75 Support for African initiatives to inform and engage Africans in NEPAD African civil society
Support to the African Peer Review Mechanism 0.7 Support for a process of peer assessment by African countries that aims to improve political, economic and corporate governance UNDP Trust Fund
Peace and Security
Strengthening the Peace and Security Capacity of the African Union 4 Support for institutional capacity building as well as unarmed military observer missions, political mediation, and peace-support missions; also support to the African Union's Special Representative for the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict African Union
West Africa Peace and Security Initiative
  • ECOWAS: Institutional Capacity Building for Peace and Security
  • KAIPTC: Support for Capacity Development
  • West African Police Project
  • UNDP: Arms for Development
  • Sub-Regional Program: Small Arms and Light Weapons
15 Increasing community security in West Africa through targeted efforts to strengthen capacities for peace operations, and addressing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Pearson Peacekeeping Centre (PPC), Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Oxfam GB/Centre d'étude et de coopération internationale (CECI), national police and gendarme services, UNDP Sierra Leone
War-affected Youth 6 Rehabilitation and reintegration of war-affected children and youth by supporting initiatives in health, education, skills training, and peace building in conflict-affected societies, including Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Northern Uganda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Sudan War Child Canada, Defence for Children International-Canada.
Trade and Investment
Canada Investment Fund for Africa (CIFA) 100 Public-private fund providing risk capital for private investment that generates growth by leveraging additional investments into Africa Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), fund managers: Actis (London, UK) and Cordiant (Montréal, QC)
Programme for building African Capacity for Trade (PACT) 8 Training and technical assistance to increase competitiveness and promote export opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses, including women-owned businesses International Trade Centre (ITC), Trade Facilitation Office Canada (TFO Canada)
Joint Integrated Technical Assistance Programme 7 Training and technical assistance in trade negotiations, implementation of World Trade Organization agreements, policy formulation, and market development International Trade Centre (ITC), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), World Trade Organization (WTO)
African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) 5 Research and technical assistance to enhance trade negotiations and trade promotion in areas like market access, non-tariff barriers, and trade preferences United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
NEPAD Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility 10 Assistance to African institutions to prepare viable regional infrastructure project proposals in areas such as water and sanitation, transportation, energy, and information and communications technologies BAfrican Development Bank (AfDB)
Health
HIV/AIDS Vaccine Research and Development
  • International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)
  • African AIDS Vaccine Programme (AAVP)
50 Training for African researchers, upgrading of laboratory facilities, and development of standards and laws to support trials of vaccine candidates for Africa-specific strains of HIV International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), African AIDS Vaccine Partnership (AAVP)
Polio Eradication Program 50 Immunization programs in Africa, with special attention to countries where the wild poliovirus is still prevalent. UNICEF, World Health Organization (WHO
Canadian Coalition on Youth and HIV/AIDS 12 Prevention and care programs involving young people and their role vis-à-vis the issues surrounding the impact of HIV/AIDS on education, work, and family CARE Canada, World Vision, Plan International, Save the Children
Childhood Development through Sport in Refugee Camps 1,5 Engaging war-affected children in sports and play programs that promote life skills such as cooperation, peaceful conflict resolution, and HIV/AIDS awareness Right to Play
Agriculture, environment and water
Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) 30 Establishment of a biosciences research centre for the development of stress-tolerant, disease-resistant, and nutritionally enhanced crops, plus vaccines and diagnostic tests for livestock, to benefit small farmers, particularly women International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), NEPAD Secretariat
Research on Agricultural Productivity 40 Support to Africa-specific research programs that focus on meeting the needs of small farmers Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Improving water management, and access to water and sanitation
  • Partnership for Africa's Water Development (PAWD)
  • Water and Sanitation Trust Fund
  • African Water Facility (AWF)
  • Multi-Donor Water Partnership Program (MDWPP)
50 Support for water resource management and water service provision programs in Africa to help integrate water resource management into national and sub-regional planning, and support for provision of access to water and sanitation services for the poor Global Water Partnership (GWP), UN-HABITAT, African Development Bank (AfDB)
Africa-Canada Eco-Leadership Program 12 Support to youth exchange programs with work components in environmental conservation and natural resource management, with an emphasis on South-South knowledge sharing JCanada World Youth (CWY), various African governments and civil society environmental organizations
Bridging the Digital Divide
Connectivity Africa 15 Research into initiatives on network connectivity, community access, and creation of local information technology content, especially in health care, higher education, economic growth, and community development Industrie Canada, Centre de recherches pour le développement international, Savoir sans Frontières, Commission économique des Nations Unies pour l'Afrique (CENUA).
Enablis Entrepreneurial Network 10 Support to small and medium-sized entrepreneurs using information and communications technologies, including networking, provision of seed money for business development and expansion, business technology and support, capacity building, and advisory services Industry Canada, Enablis Entrepreneurial Network
e-Policy Resource Network for Africa (e-PolNet) 10 Technical assistance to policy makers for development of information and communications technologies, including advice on policies and strategies, and regulations for areas such as e-commerce, e-government, telecommunications and Internet governance Industry Canada, Canada School of Public Service (CSPS), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)


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  1. The G8 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.