COVID–19: Canada’s Global Initiative for Vaccine Equity

In response to global calls for support to enhance vaccine roll-out in early 2022, Canada launched Canada’s Global Initiative for Vaccine Equity (CanGIVE), a $317 million signature initiative to bolster COVID-19 vaccine delivery, strengthen health systems and increase regional vaccine manufacturing capacity.

As the world moves beyond emergency pandemic response, continued access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments remains critical for high-risk groups. In some low- and lower-middle income countries, vaccination rates remain low and health systems have been overstretched by the pandemic. This poses significant challenges to long-term COVID-19 management and recovery efforts. Countries require support to integrate COVID-19 vaccination into ongoing immunization programs and primary health services in a way that strengthens the broader health system and reverses the backsliding trend in routine immunization that occurred over the pandemic.

Canada is contributing to these efforts.Through CanGIVE, Canada supports vaccination for high-risk groups where vaccination coverage remains low, particularly in humanitarian contexts and hard-to-reach places.
The initiative builds on Canada’s long-standing commitment to investing in and supporting health systems worldwide.
CanGIVE aims to:

• strengthen vaccine delivery systems and community outreach to reach high-priority and marginalized groups
• integrate COVID-19 prevention and care, including increased gender-responsive capacity, into routine health services in a way that strengthens the broader health system
• scale up regional vaccine production capacity to bring manufacturing closer to populations in need
• improve access to COVID-19 vaccines for countries with humanitarian needs

CanGIVE focuses on 12 countries: Bangladesh, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Haiti, Jamaica, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.
Through CanGIVE, Canada is partnering with:

• UNICEF - $170 million to enhance COVID-19 vaccine delivery and uptake among high-priority groups, integrate COVID-19 vaccination into routine health services, strengthen health systems and improve gender-sensitive water, sanitation and hygiene systems in 11 countries
• the World Health Organization (WHO) - $57 million to increase equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, particularly among priority groups and vulnerable populations, and reinforce health systems through strengthened community outreach, data systems, and the delivery of gender-equitable immunization and primary health care in 7 African countries
• the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) - $60 million to improve equitable COVID-19 vaccination coverage, in particular among vulnerable populations, including women and girls, throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, with a focus on Colombia, Haiti and Jamaica; Canada is also supporting PAHO’s COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Manufacturing Platform to strengthen vaccine-production capacities in Latin America and the Caribbean
• Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) - $30 million to help advance the work of the “hub” for COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in South Africa, as well as enhance the capacity of a network of manufacturing facilities in “spoke” countries

These investments are part of Canada’s $732-million commitment to the ACT-Accelerator and were announced on May 12, 2022, by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Related links

• Canada’s aid and development assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Minister Sajjan announces support for COVID-19 vaccination and health systems in Latin America and the Caribbean
• Minister Sajjan announces $200-million contribution to enhance COVID-19 vaccine delivery, demand and production in 13 high-need countries - Canada.ca