UN urges Canada to reverse cuts to foreign aid and health funding

The head of the United Nations’ HIV/AIDS program is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to rethink his government’s planned reductions to foreign aid and global health funding, warning that the move risks deepening global inequality and undermining hard-won progress against major infectious diseases.

Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg, UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima urged Canada and other donor countries not to walk away from their international commitments.

“My message to Prime Minister Carney, to Canada, and to all the other donors is: stay the course,” Byanyima said in an interview. “Without global solidarity, the inequality between countries will continue to widen. We will live in a more dangerous world as these inequalities increase.”

Her comments come after Canada announced its first-ever reduction to its contribution to the Global Fund, one of the world’s key financing mechanisms for combating AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Ottawa’s latest pledge is 17 per cent lower than its 2022 commitment.

The Global Fund helps provide mosquito nets, HIV treatment, and essential medical supplies in some of the poorest regions of the world. Health advocates say Canada’s retreat will be felt most sharply in countries where fragile health systems depend heavily on donor support.

The funding cut follows the federal budget’s call for $2.7 billion in reduced foreign aid spending over four years, despite Carney’s campaign-trail promise earlier this year that no reductions would be made.

Government officials argue that the rollback simply returns Canada’s aid spending to pre-pandemic levels. During COVID-19, Ottawa boosted its contributions to address rising health emergencies and stalled progress in fighting diseases like AIDS and tuberculosis. The U.S. has dramatically reduced its aid spending this year as well.

Byanyima arrived at the G20 summit to help present a wide-ranging report commissioned by South Africa on the deepening gulf between rich and poor countries. The report warns that economic polarization is feeding public anger, weakening political cohesion, and creating conditions ripe for instability.

It urges governments to pursue policies that narrow income gaps, strengthen social protections, and repair global financial rules that trap developing nations in cycles of debt—worsened by rising interest rates and climate-driven disasters.

Byanyima pointed to Norway as an example of long-term investment in equality, noting Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre’s recent comment that his country has gained more economically from expanding opportunities for women in the workforce than from decades of oil production.

“When we reduce inequality between countries and within countries, we actually create stronger economies,” she said. She also encouraged Canada to support global efforts to curb tax evasion and illicit financial flows.

Pressed about the backlash to the cuts, Carney defended his government’s decision. He said that while Canada’s pledge to the Global Fund is smaller, its share of the fund’s overall budget has actually increased because the fund itself has less money to distribute.

“We’ve had to take pragmatic, responsible decisions across government, including returning our aid budget to pre-COVID levels,” Carney said in Johannesburg. “Within that, we’re still targeting areas where our support has the most impact, especially on this continent.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand echoed his remarks, insisting Canada remains a significant donor.

“Canada’s contribution is still meaningful, material and significant,” Anand said. “Africa is our largest recipient of international assistance, and that support will continue.”

But critics argue the shift marks a troubling departure from Canada’s long-standing role in promoting human rights and development. Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe said there is a “worrying” trend in linking foreign aid more directly to trade interests.

The cuts also come just as advocates prepare to mark World AIDS Day on Monday. They note that the world now has the tools to end the HIV epidemic, but not the financial support to deliver lifesaving treatments to everyone who needs them.

Jayati Ghosh, a prominent Indian economist who co-presented the inequality report with Byanyima, said Canada should also support reforms that allow developing countries to produce essential medicines. She argued that strict intellectual property rules continue to keep drug prices high and block poorer nations from manufacturing their own treatments.

The issue came into sharp focus during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many low-income countries waited months longer than wealthy nations for vaccines—only to receive fewer doses than promised—while lacking permission to produce their own.

“Governments have to think beyond foreign aid,” Ghosh said. “They must examine the global regulations they help uphold that end up worsening conditions for developing countries.”