Statement of Commitment to the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty

General section

1. Canada hereby voluntarily joins the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty and states its dedication to pursue the Alliance's mission, objectives and principles, as expressed in the Global Alliance's Terms of Reference and Governance Framework, and to collaborate with other members to achieve lasting solutions to poverty and hunger worldwide, as expressed below.

Canada:

2. Recognizes that hunger and malnutrition are the perverse manifestations of persistent, structural poverty and inequality, and recognizes the need to end poverty and hunger in all their forms and dimensions and to fully and effectively implement the 2030 Agenda.
3. Acknowledges the alarming growth in the number of people facing food insecurity and poverty in recent years, noting that, despite all significant past and current efforts, the world is not on track to meet SDG 1 and 2 targets, inequality is also on the rise (SDG 10), and a significant increase in collective ambition, as well as improvement in collective alignment and coordination for the fight against hunger and poverty, is urgently needed.
4. To that effect, endorses the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty and its mission to support and accelerate efforts to eradicate hunger and poverty (SDGs 1 and 2) while reducing inequalities (SDG 10), contributing to revitalize global partnerships for sustainable development (SDG 17) and to the achievement of other interlinked SDGs, and championing sustainable, inclusive and just transitions.
5. Notes that it is crucial for the world to unite behind large-scale, integrated approaches combining international, regional, national, and local levels, that recognize the interconnected nature of challenges and solutions to hunger and poverty and pair social protection with access to goods and services that can help the poor and vulnerable populations to overcome structural barriers and drive responsible investment in their productive capacity. These complementary services include but are not limited to interventions for poverty reduction, food security and nutrition, early childhood support, education and skills development, employment services, health and care services, as well as family farmers and smallholders’ access to finance, extension services, research and/or agricultural inputs, in line with international commitments and obligations.
6. Particularly recognizes the high value and positive impact of quality implementation of national and local country-owned, inclusive policy instruments and programmes, focused on the poorest and most vulnerable, in the fields of poverty reduction, social protection, food security and nutrition, gender equality, decent work in the agri-food sector, skills development, family farming and smallholder agriculture, food systems transformation, health and care services and resilience building.
7. Also acknowledges the Global Alliance’s reference basket of such policies as a collectively built, ongoing collection of examples with robust evidence to reduce hunger and poverty, and as a useful basis to guide joint action and increase alignment of the international community at country level. This acknowledgement is applicable to the policy basket approach as a general guide to action and does not imply endorsement of any specific policy instrument or programme contained in the basket.
8. Therefore, by joining the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, commits to do its best efforts, in its own field of action, and according to its own mandate, capacities, priorities, preferences, procedures, and legal arrangements and framework, to support the implementation of policy instruments and programmes at country level as appropriate, including by the promotion of shared learning and the mobilization of resources, public and private, at scale.

In particular

Policy cooperation and support commitments

Canada:

Commits to, within its capacities, share its own learnings and otherwise provide appropriate help and support, within its means to other Global Alliance member countries to implement, improve, or scale-up the implementation of policies and programmes referenced in the Alliance’s basket.

Specifically, informs and commits to implementing the actions, programmes, and other activities listed below, in support of the Global Alliance’s objectives:

Canada is ready to share experiences and lessons regarding the following policies and policy instruments, among others:

1. Feminist International Assistance Policy
   

   Further advance the Feminist International Assistance Policy to support member countries to implement, improve, or scale-up the implementation of gender-transformative programmes or policy instruments in the Global Alliance’s reference basket to drive the fight against hunger and poverty, in line with sustainable country-led financing and implementation strategies.

2. Nutrition
   

   Enhancing access to nutritious food, micronutrients and comprehensive nutrition services to address acute malnutrition, and contribute to support nutrition-sensitive food systems throughout life, with a focus on women, adolescents and young children, including vulnerable populations in crisis and conflict situations.

3. Agri-Food Systems Resilience
   

   Promoting agri-food system resilience to improve Canada’s international development  programming, policy and advocacy to address the causes of global food crises with emphasis on climate-smart agriculture, sustainable agri-food value chains, inclusive food systems governance, and productive safety nets.

4. Improving policy coherence through support to policy dialogues between government and other actors
   

   Many of Canada’s development assistance projects foster policy dialogue between government and development partners. One example, is through the Canada-funded Regional Gender-Responsive Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Systems in the Caribbean  project where the FAO facilitates policy discussions with local Ministries of Agriculture, farmer organizations, gender bureaus, research institutions, and community-based agro-processing centres to improve the livelihoods of women and youth in climate-resilient agriculture value chains in the Caribbean.

5. Technical assistance to developing countries to improve design and implementation of national plans, programs and strategies.
   

   Many of Canada’s development assistance projects provide technical assistance to strengthen national plans, programs and strategies. One example, is through the Canada-funded Expert Deployment Mechanism for Climate Action in Africa project which enables the flexible and timely deployment of qualified experts, primarily Canadians, in response to technical assistance requests from African governments at all levels, as well as non-governmental entities to address the causes and effects of climate change.

6. Supporting Agriculture, Food Security or Nutrition Donor Working Groups
   

   Canada joins other donors and development partners in policy dialogue and coordination discussions in government-donor working groups in Africa, Asia and Latin America on topics related to agriculture, food security and nutrition.

7. Food Policy for Canada
   

   The Food Policy for Canada brings diverse perspectives from across Canada’s food systems together to address key gaps and better coordinate food-related actions for improved social, health, environmental and economic outcomes. It aims to ensure that all people in Canada are able to access a sufficient amount of safe, nutritious, and culturally diverse food.

8. Canada Child Benefit
   

   The Canada Child Benefit provides a tax-free monthly payment to eligible families with the cost of raising children under 18 years of age and has been successful in contributing to reducing the child poverty rate by more than half from 2015 to 2023.

9. School Meals
   

   Canada joins other partners in advancing the objectives of School Meals Coalition, including on learning and advocacy. Canada provides strong support for school meals projects in developing countries through long standing partnerships with the World Food Program and other partners. This funding has demonstrated an impact in improving nutrition status, school attendance and in reducing divergent outcomes between boys and girls.  Canada is also investing in the development of a National School Food Program working with provinces, territories, Indigenous communities and local civil society organisations to increase access to school meal programs for children across Canada.

Financial support commitments

Canada:

Commits to make its best efforts to improve the destination, allocation and alignment of the use of its official development resources, including through coordination and cooperation facilitated by the Global Alliance, to support member countries to implement, improve, or scale-up the implementation of select programmes or policy instruments in the Alliance’s reference basket to address hunger and poverty, in line with sustainable country-led financing and implementation strategies.

Commits to provide continued support to address SDG2: Zero Hunger by partnering with food system and nutrition partners at all levels, including key Canadian partners such as Canadian Foodgrains Bank and Nutrition International.

Commits CAD $100 million to the 13th replenishment of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to support agricultural growth and inclusive rural transformation, with a focus on helping poor rural people improve their production and productivity, build their capacity, and connect to markets and services.

Declares that Canada will work, as a shareholder in various Multilateral Development Banks and member of international organisations, as well as in relevant discussions at the G20 and other fora, to ensure they continue to provide funding for poverty and hunger eradication consistent with the borrowing countries’ programs, including in the IDA 21 replenishment.

Knowledge support commitments

Canada:

Commits to make its best efforts to co-create and provide technical assistance, capacity building and strengthening, training and/or knowledge-sharing on voluntary and mutually agreed terms in response to requests by Global Alliance member countries that choose to implement policy instruments and programmes in the Alliance's policy basket that are compatible with its areas of expertise.

Commits to make its best efforts to improve the alignment of its actions, including through the Global Alliance coordination mechanisms, leveraging, and partnering with other actors to better support large scale, country-owned implementation of policies and programmes in the reference basket by Global Alliance member countries aiming at enhancing country-level outcomes.

Commits to collaborate with other Alliance members to develop innovative solutions and share good practices in learning and knowledge exchange and dissemination on voluntary and mutually agreed terms, data collection and analysis, including by leveraging existing local, national, and international knowledge networks, coalitions, communities and other fora related to aspects relevant to the fight against hunger and poverty.

Informs and commits to implementing the following actions, programmes, and other activities in support of the Global Alliance’s objectives:

Commits to share lessons on implementing its Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) which aims to promote gender equality and empowerment among women and girls in developing countries. It focuses on supporting projects and policies that address the specific needs and challenges faced by women and girls in a variety of areas, including agriculture. Canada’s support to agricultural development focusses on Gender Transformative Approaches in Agriculture (GTA) to better support sustainable and equitable resource management, agricultural production and access to markets with the goal of reducing poverty and hunger.

General acknowledgments

Recognizes the possibility to, including through the mechanisms available to Global Alliance members, coordinate, partner with and/or seek support from the Global Alliance’s other members, within their respective capacities, availability, and fields of activity, to carry out the present commitments with greater effectiveness.

While recognizing that the above commitments are voluntary and non-legally binding, being subject to and carried out under its own capacities, regulations, priorities, and modalities, as well as to the availability of appropriate resourcing, strives to seriously consider, as appropriate, and according to its own legal frameworks and governance process, to review its procedures and priorities as found necessary to better deliver on the present commitments, enhance synergies and joint efforts with other entities and initiatives, and improve outcomes on the collective fight against hunger and poverty.