Address by Parliamentary Secretary Deepak Obhrai on behalf of Minister Paradis: Funding for a Canadian Red Cross project in South Sudan

Topics: National
May 21, 2014

May 21, 2014 – Calgary, Alberta

Check against delivery

Good morning/afternoon, everyone.

It's a pleasure to join you all today to talk about an issue that matters to us all.

As many of you know, maternal, newborn and child health is the centrepiece of our Government's international development policy.

Prime Minister Harper has been championing the health of women and children in developing countries since he launched the G-8 Muskoka Initiative on this issue in 2010.

A few weeks ago, he spoke to the media about the three-day Summit that he will be hosting in Toronto next week, called "Saving Every Woman, Every Child: Within Arm's Reach."

The Summit will bring together Canadian and international experts from all over the world to accelerate efforts on maternal, newborn and child health.

When asked why Canada was so engaged on this issue, Prime Minister Harper explained that this is something Canadians are passionate about.

That it is the right thing to do.

And, what's more, that it is doable.

You don't have to be a doctor or a health expert to agree with that statement. 

The preventable deaths of mothers and children in developing countries are one of the greatest tragedies of the 21st century.

No mother should have to choose between herself and the health of her baby.

But the most recent data shows that more than 6 million children die before their fifth birthday. And nearly 300,000 women die in pregnancy.

This is doubly tragic when we consider that most of these deaths could have been prevented with access to clean water, nutritious food, or the most basic health treatments.

We cannot stand idly by while women and young children in developing countries suffer deaths that are easily and inexpensively preventable.

That is why Prime Minister Harper galvanized global action to reduce maternal and child mortality rates through the Muskoka Initiative.

Thanks in part to this effort, and subsequent global action, maternal mortality rates are declining. And millions more children are celebrating their fifth birthday.

Our common goal has not yet been achieved – but it is within arm's reach.

The Canadian values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law guide our principled foreign policy and we have a track record of delivering concrete results.

Between 2010 and 2013, Canada's support has helped to provide:

  • 5.8 million children with life-saving vaccinations;
  • over 180 million children with two doses of Vitamin A each year – a key nutritional element for healthy development, immunity and eyesight; and
  • close to 2 million pregnant women each year with iron and folic acid supplements to improve the outcomes of their pregnancies.

As a result, nutrition is improving.

The rates of disease are decreasing.

And more and better healthcare is available.

We can eliminate the preventable deaths of women, newborns and children,  and save the millions of lives that hang in the balance.

Canadian organizations and health experts have played a crucial role in what we have achieved to date.

Dozens of Canadian organizations threw their weight and support behind the Muskoka Initiative.

Together, they formed the Canadian Network for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.

We can all be proud of the work they have done around the world and of the leadership Canada has shown on the international stage.

But our job isn't done - not as long as lives are being needlessly lost.

In South Sudan, for example, more than 2,000 women die from complications during pregnancy or childbirth each year.

This is compared to about 11 women in Canada.

As those of you who have worked there know, the main reason is a lack of access to health services and appropriately trained health workers, especially midwives.

More than 82 percent of people in South Sudan live in rural areas, and less than half live within a five-kilometre radius of a functioning health clinic.

Socio-cultural barriers are also a major factor.

In many instances, families don't allow women to seek health services until the situation becomes critical – and by that time, it is often too late.

South Sudan also has exceptionally high mortality rates for newborns and children under five, with many of them dying from preventable illnesses like pneumonia, malaria and diarrhea.

This bleak situation is a reflection of a new country emerging from decades of war.

The current crisis in South Sudan has taken a terrible toll on its people, but especially on the country's women and children as they struggle to rebuild shattered lives without a properly functioning health system.

At this early stage in development, South Sudan is only beginning to establish a government-run primary health system.

A key short-term measure for improving access to maternal, newborn and child health is to bring more services directly to communities by setting up mobile clinics and training community volunteers.

As an organization with significant experience in the area of community-based health care, including mobile clinics, the Canadian Red Cross is uniquely placed to deliver these services. 

Today, I am pleased to announce that the Government of Canada will contribute $19.9 million over six years towards the Red Cross' efforts to provide these life-saving services to mothers and children in the Warrap State, where health needs are dire.

Working in partnership with the South Sudan Red Cross and the Government of South Sudan, this project will provide:

  • 350,000 people in more than 600 communities with access to health services;
  • 70,000 women with access to safe delivery;
  • 70,000 newborns with access to life saving interventions;
  • 125,000 children with access to child health care services; and
  • 350,000 with access to clean water and sanitation.

I understand this approach of extending health care to communities where no health services exist is based on the success of similar systems in countries like Afghanistan, where mobile clinics have been added as part of the standardized package of health care.

Through this initiative with the Canadian Red Cross and others, Canada will continue to push the health of mothers, newborns and children to the forefront of the global agenda.

And Canada will once again drive the world to action by hosting the high-level Summit on maternal and child health in Toronto later this month.  

Saving the lives of women and children is not only a moral imperative – it is the foundation for building prosperous communities for this generation and the next.

This work reflects our most strongly held Canadian values.

And Canada will continue to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

Thank you.
 

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