Developing world needs more support

There has been much debate as to whether Canada should be participating in COVAX, the pooled investment fund aimed at increasing the purchasing power of small and medium economies relative to vaccine producers, and whether some of the Canadian funds invested should be used not only for developing countries but for Canadians as well. Wherever you land on this question, Canada has a moral duty and a clear self-interest in supporting broad vaccine coverage in the Global South, before new virus variants multiply that will become ongoing threats to our economy.

Unfortunately, International Development Week (Feb. 7-13) is here to remind us that the developing world will need more than vaccines to return to being the economic partner our globalized economy needs it to be.

In 2020, many people in the South have lost their sources of income following partial lockdowns and disruptions in supply chains and cross-border traffic.

The World Bank forecasts that the number of people in extreme poverty will have increased by as many as 150 million by the end of 2021.

In the Global South, the informal economy (essentially made up of tiny income-generating ventures) is the source of income for 80 per cent of the population. The poorest need assistance to grow their micro-enterprises or start new ones.

The Canadian government provides very little assistance for micro-entrepreneurs — less than one per cent of its foreign aid budget. The Partnership for Economic Inclusion in Washington disseminates evidence-based best practices in this area. Canada should join and find how it can most efficiently support the extreme poor in becoming engines of work in a post-COVID economy.

This will mean relatively small amounts compared to vaccine costs, but will make a huge difference.

Jean-Francois Tardif, Gatineau