Canada announced an investment of $300 million to finance climate initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. The funds will be managed by Canadian NGOs active in the region, according to information reported last February 17 by Harjit Sajjan (pictured), Canadian Minister of International Development.

“We recognize the particular challenges faced by developing countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, in adapting to the increasing threats of climate change. That is why we created the Partnering for Climate funding initiative—to support engagement with communities most at risk from climate change and to build resilience,” said the Minister.

The initiative was born out of Canada's commitment to invest $5.3 billion for climate-related projects over the next five years in African countries. Sub-Saharan Africa is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, which affects food and water systems, displaces people, and hinders economic development.

 “This new initiative called Partnering for Climate is critical because it offers grants, unlike most climate financing, which is done through loans that must be repaid,” said Tanjina Mirza, chief programs officer at Plan International Canada, an NGO working internationally to advance children’s rights and equality for girls. “This kind of bigger resource allows us to inject more resources to where we need [them] the most, especially with women's rights organizations on the ground,” she added.

As a reminder, in 2009, rich nations pledged $100 billion a year to support developing countries. To date, $80 billion has been mobilized annually, and 57% of these funds were raised in the form of loans that keep recipient countries indebted, making it difficult to escape poverty.