This September, Canada will attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in India.
It is critical that Canada, along with other G20 countries, make this an opportunity to focus on the needs of the most vulnerable communities, and commit to improving international financial aid to enhance equitable response and recovery for future pandemic threats – particularly through expanded access to primary health care.
Results Canada has put together eight recommendations for Canada's engagement in the G20 this fall.
Results Canada's proposed recommendations:
recommendation 1:
proposed language on tuberculosis in G20 Health Ministers’ Communiqué
Tuberculosis (TB) is the world’s deadliest infectious disease and continues to increase global poverty. To reach the Sustainable Development Goal to end TB by 2030, we must address drug-resistant TB. We have developed recommended language for the Health Ministers’ Communiqué, outlining the opportunity and need to recommit to the fight against Malaria, AIDS and TB globally.
recommendation 2:
strengthening and funding primary healthcare systems and fighting existing pandemics
The External Evaluation of ACT-A notes that we must strengthen health systems in between pandemics – not during a pandemic. The G20 must recognize that primary health care, which includes protection from malnutrition and infectious diseases, is critical to achieving universal health care. Building primary healthcare systems and workforce, including Community Health Workers, must be considered an investment in pandemic preparedness and readiness.
recommendation 3:
equitable access to medical countermeasures
COVID-19 showed us the stark inequalities that are prevalent to global access to vaccines. The G20 should support the development of a standing medical countermeasures platform to ensure equitable access to medical countermeasures during the next pandemic and make commitments to provide it with the appropriate political and financial support to enable its success.
recommendation 4:
financing for Pandemic Preparedness through the Resilience and Sustainability Trust
The IMF hosts the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST), which receives Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) from high-income countries that do not need them. It is important to recognize the support which the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust provides to low- and middle-income countries. Further, the IMF must publish a tracker in order to keep countries accountable to their pledges.
recommendation 5:
ensure IDA 20 and IDA 21 deliver on policy commitments supportive of PPPR
The International Development Association (IDA) is the largest source of development financing in the world and issues grants and concessional loans to low-income and vulnerable countries. During IDA 20, there was an increased focus on reinforcing primary health care, which will support the pandemic-readiness of IDA countries. In December, the IDA will host its 21st replenishment, thus the Health and Finance Ministers’ Communiqués and/or the Leaders’ Declaration should encourage IDA 21 to continue focusing on these priority topics.
recommendation 6:
use New Lending Capacity through Capital Adequacy Framework reviews at Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to provide more affordable lending for PPPR
The G20 Leaders have endorsed a review of MDBs to determine how these institutions could best leverage their existing assets to provide additional lending to low- and middle-income countries, at the best rate markets can provide. At a minimum, this review will generate tens of billions of dollars in additional lending capacity over the next few years. PPPR should be prioritized for the additional lending capacity.
recommendation 7:
debt suspension clauses for pandemic and climate events
Borrowing countries who face an adverse event (flood, drought, disease outbreak) find it extremely challenging to continue to payoff their debt while funding the measures required to deal with the event. Debt suspension clauses for low and lower-middle income countries should be applied in the case of adverse events (such as climate or pandemic related).
recommendation 8:
develop a mechanism for Surge Financing
There is consensus among G20 countries on the need for funding on day zero of the next pandemic, as specified in the ACT-A evaluation. Surge financing that is readily releasable, with transparent and pre-defined triggers, to immediately finance R&D and manufacturing on day zero of any pandemic-potential outbreaks is critical to respond faster and more equitably to the next pandemic.
