OTTAWA, June 18, 2026 — The Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH) welcomes the G7 Leaders’ declaration on mutually beneficial international partnerships at a critical moment for global cooperation.
At a time when international assistance budgets are under pressure, the G7’s reaffirmation of the strategic role of concessional official development assistance is significant. The declaration also recognizes what CanWaCH and its members know well — that health, education, early childhood development, nutrition, food systems and the rights and empowerment of women and girls are essential to development and economic growth.
As G7 leaders move from declaration to implementation, development finance reform must keep people, equity, rights and human development at the centre. Mutually beneficial partnerships must be measured not only by the capital they mobilize, but by whether they strengthen systems, improve lives and reach the people most at risk of being left behind.
Health is not separate from shared prosperity, resilience or economic growth. It is one of the foundations that makes them possible and one of the clearest examples of a truly mutually beneficial partnership. Investments in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), maternal, newborn and child health, nutrition, immunization, primary health care and community-based services save lives, strengthen public health systems and support long-term economic and social stability.
Private capital, blended finance, development finance institutions and multilateral development banks all have an important role to play in supporting sustainable development. But these tools are not interchangeable. Reforming the development finance architecture should not mean moving away from human development. It should mean using the right financing tools for the right outcomes, with grant and concessional finance protected where it is most needed.
Using concessional resources more strategically is a legitimate and important conversation. But “strategic” cannot simply mean fewer dollars, more leverage or shifting the risk to countries with the least fiscal space. Strategic concessional finance should mean protecting the investments that reach the most marginalized people, respond to urgent needs and deliver the clearest human development returns.
The declaration’s focus on debt sustainability and domestic resource mobilization is also important. Many partner countries are facing debt servicing pressures that crowd out spending on health, education, nutrition and social protection. If the G7 is serious about resilience and country ownership, then debt sustainability, fiscal space and public service delivery need to be treated as connected issues.
Stronger tax systems and domestic financing are essential for long-term sustainability, but they do not remove the need for predictable international public finance — particularly in the least developed countries, fragile settings and communities facing conflict, climate shocks and humanitarian crises.
True partnership must also move beyond outdated donor-recipient models that too often reinforce unequal power dynamics. Development finance reform should not be something done for countries or communities, but shaped with them. That requires shared decision-making, risk-sharing, accountability and meaningful participation from partner country governments, civil society, youth, frontline health workers and the communities most affected by these decisions.
Any credible reform agenda must also address the impact of escalating and unchecked conflicts. Around the world, conflict and political violence are devastating health systems, disrupting access to essential services and putting civilians, health workers and humanitarian workers at grave risk. Efforts to build resilience and advance shared prosperity must include sustained action to prevent and reduce conflict, protect civilians and uphold international humanitarian law.
Canada has real credibility to bring to this conversation. Global health, including SRHR, maternal and child health, nutrition, immunization and community-based care, is one of Canada’s clearest areas of experience, partnership and impact.
As Canada and its G7 partners advance this transformative agenda, CanWaCH remains committed to working alongside governments, civil society and global partners to ensure development finance reform delivers where it matters most: stronger systems, healthier communities and better futures for women and children everywhere.
About CanWaCH
The Canadian Partnership for Women and Children’s Health (CanWaCH) is a coalition of more than 110 Canadian-based organizations working globally to advance the health and rights of women, children and adolescents. CanWaCH connects the right people, ideas and resources to tackle global health challenges no single organization could solve alone. We strengthen Canada’s collective impact in global health and gender equality by providing the resources, evidence and partnerships that help our members go further.
Media contact
Amber St. Louis – CanWaCH
613-240-8950
