TORONTO, Canada, December 17, 2015/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, today announced Government of Canada support for several United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations to provide emergency humanitarian assistance in response to the severe drought and food security crisis in Ethiopia.
Minister Bibeau made the announcement in Tokyo as she met with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Ethiopia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Minister Bibeau was in Japan to participate in the Global Fund’s Fifth Replenishment preparatory meeting with representatives of governments, civil society, international organizations and the private sector, to discuss innovative approaches to working with the Global Fund to end HIV, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics.
Minister Bibeau also met individually with some of Canada’s key international development partners, such as Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation; Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization; Dr. Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations; and Dr. Seth Berkley, Chief Executive Officer of GAVI, The Vaccine Alliance.
Quotes
“Ethiopia can count on Canada’s continued engagement and support. We are concerned by the food security situation in Ethiopia and will continue to monitor it and act quickly to protect the poorest and most vulnerable.
“I am pleased to have engaged with some of Canada’s key partners while in Vietnam and Japan to discuss how we can work together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.”
– Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie
Quick facts
As a result of one of the strongest El Niño events on record, Ethiopia is currently facing its worst drought in decades and expects that as many as 20 million people will require humanitarian assistance by early 2016.
According to the United Nations, Canada ranked as the fifth-largest humanitarian donor to Ethiopia in 2015.
Minister Bibeau’s trip to Vietnam and Japan marks her first international visit as Minister of International Development and La Francophonie.
