Celebrating action and impact in 2019

There’s no doubt about it, 2019 was an exciting year for global poverty advocates and political junkies alike.

Thanks to incredible grassroots efforts we saw Canada make some strong commitments to initiatives we know contribute to ending extreme poverty. Some of our most exciting wins are outlined below along with a sneak peek at what we think are the biggest opportunities for impact in 2020.

Our Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria campaign launched in January 2019 and volunteers across Canada worked tirelessly right up until August to ensure a strong Canadian commitment. Your countless meetings with decision makers, letters to the editor and op-eds kept the pressure on the Government and resulted in an incredible $930.4 million dollars. A major contribution towards ending these epidemics once and for all.

We also made our voices heard in the lead up the Federal Election in October 2019 and put our well-honed advocacy skills to good use. By meeting with candidates, attending town halls and debates and engaging with the media we kept development on the minds of political parties and made many new connections.  When one of the parties threatened to cut foreign aid you spoke out along with Canadians across the country about why this was unacceptable. For a full overview of our parliamentary engagement in 2019 check out our Parliamentarian’s Year in Review.

As we reflect on the year that’s ended it’s also an opportunity to gear up for future opportunities. Next year marks ten years to the deadline of the Sustainable Development Goals. Although we’ve made important progress, there is still much work left to do and no shortage of opportunities for Canadians to show they care:

• We will continue to advocate ensuring every child has a healthy start starting with immunization for all. To do so we will keep up the pressure on Canada to pledge $215 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and to fund Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance who lead on this lifesaving work.
• Good nutrition is essential to ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Canada can cement its global leadership in nutrition by making strong commitments at next year’s Nutrition for Growth Summit in Tokyo, Japan.

There are some major issues that will need to be addressed if we’re going to successfully end extreme poverty in the coming decade. Many of the world’s extreme poor are facing double or triple burdens when it comes to being impacted by global challenges like climate change and humanitarian crises. Come join us at RESULTS Canada’s National Conference May 2-4, 2020 to learn more about these issues and the actions you can take to have a real impact in the world.

Thank you for an incredible year of impact and we look forward to achieving even greater progress in 2020.