Canada Pledges $7.8m for Health Services

Feb 20 , 2021

WHO Ethiopia received 7.8 million dollars of support from the government of Canada that will be used to maintain and ensure the continuation of essential health services in Ethiopia. It is expected to benefit approximately 6.5 million people, and half of them are women. The WHO Representative to Ethiopia, Boureima Hama Sambo, signed the grant agreement with Stephen Weaver, acting minister-counsellor and senior director at the Embassy of Canada to Ethiopia last week. The grant is aimed at strengthening these services, particularly for women, girls and vulnerable populations, while maintaining an effective response to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). It is expected to benefit people, with a focus on sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services. The project is expected to create better awareness of SRHR services for women and girls among communities and local authorities, increase capacity among decision-makers on gender equality issues, and improve the ability to develop federal health strategies and plans. Canada’s support will provide frontline health workers with training, medicine and equipment, including the personal protective equipment they need to prevent, detect and respond to COVID-19, according to Stephen.