Canada’s flagship development priority: maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

ABSTRACT

This article explores the process through which Canada has positioned maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) as its flagship development priority, first at the 2010 Muskoka Initiative and more recently in negotiations surrounding the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This emphasis conflicts with the government’s recent alignment of development assistance with security and trade-related interests. We argue that a combination of policy path dependency with a constructivist focus on international identity and reputation building best explain the centrality of MNCH in Canada’s promotion of MNCH in the SDG process.

RÉSUMÉ

Cet article explore le processus à travers lequel le Canada a positionné le Réseau canadien sur la santé des mères, des nouveau-nés et des enfants (CAN-SMNE) comme sa priorité de développement phare: tout d’abord à l’Initiative de Muskoka de 2010, et plus récemment, lors des négociations entourant les Objectifs de développement durable (ODD) des Nations Unies. Cette emphase entre en conflit avec le récent alignement adopté par le gouvernement de l’aide au développement sur les intérêts en matière de sécurité et de commerce. Nous soutenons qu’une combinaison d’une dépendance au sentier avec une orientation constructiviste de l’identité internationale et de la réputation explique le mieux le rôle central du CAN-SMNE mis de l’avant par le Canada dans le processus des ODD.

KEYWORDS:

• Sustainable development goals (SDGs)
• maternal
• newborn and child health
• foreign aid
• international relations theory
• Canada

Notes on contributors

Kristina R. Proulx is a second-year Master of Arts Candidate at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. She is currently working on her major research paper, which explores the influence of donor country interests on the provision of official development assistance towards maternal health and family planning programmes.

Arne Ruckert is a Senior Research Associate and part-time Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. His principal areas of research include the international financial institutions (IFIs), the international aid architecture, the financial crisis and health equity, social determinants of health and global health diplomacy and governance.

Ronald Labonté holds a Canada Research Chair in Globalisation and Health Equity and is Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. He has over 250 scientific publications and several hundred articles in popular media.

Notes

1. The types of documents which were reviewed included policy and ministerial statements, compliance studies, submissions from non-governmental and civil-society organisations on the post-2015 priorities, UN General Assembly Open Working Group documents, analysis by select think tanks, high-level forum documents, conference reports, interviews and Canadian political party platforms, as well as official development assistance statistics.

2. These main donors include, but are not limited to, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Global Alliance For Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI Alliance), Amnesty International, CARE, The Body Shop, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, the Aga Khan University, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), BBC World and Grand Challenges Canada.

3. The Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, which bore this name in 2013–2015 before being given its current name, Global Affairs Canada.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded through an Operating Grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Operating Grant No. 136927. Ronald Labonté received additional support through the Canada Research Chair Programme.