Oxfam Canada response to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s funding announcement in Liberia

In response to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement on funding in Liberia, Oxfam Canada’s Senior Policy Advisor Diana Sarosi, said:

“At Oxfam, we know from our work that empowering women and girls is the only way to bring an end to poverty and inequality. We are thrilled to see Canada contribute $10 million over 5 years to UN Women’s work supporting women and girls in West Africa. However, more support and funding should also go directly to local women and civil society organizations. This is a missed opportunity considering how well organized and mobilized the women’s movement is in the region.”

“For Canada to truly demonstrate feminist leadership on the global stage, we need to see an increase in total foreign aid, getting Canada back on track to meet the UN target of 0.7%. And for this aid to make a real difference in the lives of women and girls, 20% of that funding should go directly to women’s rights programs, including support for local grass-roots women’s organizations.”

Sarosi added: “Oxfam welcomes Canada’s announcement of $1.5 million to a U.N.-backed financing-acceleration instrument meant to provide much needed funds to grassroots women’s organizations working on women in peace and security. We hope this will be complemented by innovative new funding mechanisms that will channel $100 million directly to women’s organizations.”

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