Canada hailed for focusing foreign aid on women's rights amid global backslide

OTTAWA — Canada is being hailed for funding initiatives in developing countries that aim to keep women who care for children or elders from being excluded from the economy.

Ottawa announced projects to support people working in the caring economy at a major foreign-aid conference focused on women's advancement.

International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan also offered details at the Women Deliver conference in Rwanda about how $200 million in previously announced funding would be allocated.

The managing director of the Equality Fund, an organization that helps administer government cash for projects in developing countries, said Canada is holding the line amid a backsliding in gender equality.

Katharine Im-Jenkins says the funding will support women's sexual health and reproductive rights, even as other countries pull funding away from voluntary abortions, contraception and family planning.

The announcement comes after Canada joined some of its Western peers in cutting back on foreign aid, with this year's federal budget showing a 15 per cent drop in funding.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2023.