Question Period Note: Canada's humanitarian response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Canada has allocated over $100 million in funding to help partners address the immediate and secondary impact of the pandemic on the most vulnerable people worldwide.

• Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and in addition to existing humanitarian assistance funding, Canada has allocated over $100 million in funding to help partners address the immediate and secondary humanitarian impacts of the pandemic on the most vulnerable.
• Canada's flexible, responsive approach is allowing humanitarian funding to flow where it is most needed, despite rapidly evolving needs worldwide.
• Humanitarian partners continue to work tirelessly to address the immediate health needs and secondary impacts of the pandemic, including on livelihoods, food security, and sexual and gender-based violence.

The immediate health impact of COVID-19 in countries facing existing humanitarian emergencies continues to evolve rapidly. Weakened or non-existent health systems, lacking access to safe water and basic sanitation, food insecurity, and protracted displacement compound the potential adverse impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable people.

To enable humanitarian partners to respond to these needs, the UN launched the Global Humanitarian Response Plan (GHRP) for COVID-19 in March 2020. An initial funding requirement of USD $2 billion has since seen a fivefold increase, for a total of USD $10.3 billion required to respond to COVID-19 humanitarian needs until the end of 2020.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, uniquely positioned to respond through a global network of National Societies and the ICRC's presence in conflict settings, is also requesting a total of CHF 3.1 billion (USD $4.5 billion) to help support vital health infrastructure and prevent the spread of the disease.

The secondary impacts of the pandemic on livelihoods, food security, education, and sexual and gender-based violence also continue to evolve. Humanitarian partners continue to advocate for frontloading humanitarian funding and responses to help mitigate negative aftershocks on vulnerable populations. Canada's humanitarian funding is also complementary to longer term and development responses to the pandemic.
In addition to humanitarian assistance funding, in July 2020, in response to a UN request for the use of military and civil defence assets, Canada deployed a C-17 cargo aircraft to Panama to deliver humanitarian and medical supplies to 6 Latin American and Caribbean countries. Over 82 tons of cargo were transported on 7 flights to Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Guatemala.

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