Canada announces matching fund for East Africa: Conflict, Climate and Hunger

June 6, 2023 – Ottawa, Canada – Global Affairs Canada

Canada is deeply concerned by the growing humanitarian impacts of conflict and climate events in East Africa, including in Sudan, that have forced hunger upon millions of people in the region. Severe droughts continue to plague the region, leaving millions of people without reliable access to food and water, while nearly 1.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes since the conflict in Sudan began on April 15, 2023.

Today, the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, announced that the Government of Canada will match donations to the Humanitarian Coalition—a coalition of Canadian aid organizations—in response to this crisis through its matching fund Conflict, Climate and Hunger. Every donation made by individuals to the Humanitarian Coalition and its members from May 1 to June 30, 2023, will be matched to a maximum of $5 million. Canada recognizes that these events have added strain on regions neighbouring Sudan. That is why this matching fund will also include funding for the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan, as well as East Africa in general.

The funds, raised through the generosity of Canadians, will help the Humanitarian Coalition and its members deliver life-saving services in East Africa, such as emergency food and nutrition assistance and emergency cash and vouchers, as well as necessary water, sanitation and health services.