Are Canada's foreign aid investments achieving their maximum impact? That's the $5-billion question Engineers Without Borders is asking the federal government.
The Burnaby chapter of the non-profit group is launching a campaign for aid transparency at Simon Fraser University on Friday, Oct. 21, with a street-level outreach event designed to engage Canadians and generate support for greater transparency in Canadian aid. It's part of a larger, national campaign for aid transparency, designed to draw attention how the public attention to the impact of Canada's $5 billion in annual aid spending.
Engineers Without Borders is calling for the Canadian government to join a growing group of leading nations by signing on to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI).
"Signing on to IATI is a win-win for Canadians and for developing countries - it's just common sense," said James Haga, director of advocacy at Engineers Without Borders. "Not only will this initiative enable Canadians and partner country citizens to see and scrutinize the impact of Canada's aid investments, but it will also save taxpayers money and cut down on bureaucracy. In fact, just by adopting the IATI standard, participating countries will collectively improve the effectiveness of global aid by an estimated $1.6 billion per year."
The international agreement ensures participating countries publish their aid funding using a standard format. This will allow anyone to see how aid is distributed and spent.
"Transparency gives ordinary citizens the information they need to hold leaders accountable and demand improvement in the delivery of essential public services such as health and education. In many of the world's poorest countries with scarce resources, this can mean the difference between life and death," Haga added.
The local event is Friday, Oct. 21, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the convocation mall at SFU's Burnaby campus.
Engineers Without Borders creates opportunities for rural Africans to access clean water, generate an income from small farms, and have improved access to the services and infrastructure they need to improve their lives. For more, visit www.ewb.ca.
