OTTAWA — The Carney government announced more than $398 million in new international assistance at the United Nations this week, including $360 million for global education programs and another $36 million to fight an Ebola outbreak in Africa.Secretary of State for International Development Randeep Sarai announced the funding while attending the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York from Tuesday to Thursday.The bulk of the money will go toward education abroad.Canada is pledging to spend $300 million to replenish the UN Global Fund for Education, including $10 million coming from the International Development Research Centre and $60 million for the Education Cannot Wait project. The government also announced $36 million for the response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.The money will be delivered through health and humanitarian organizations and used for the public health response, access to care and research into medical countermeasures, according to Global Affairs Canada.Of that funding, $4 million will come from Health Emergency Readiness Canada. .Ottawa also announced $16.5 million earlier this week for global biosecurity and efforts to counter deliberate disease threats, some of which can be used to respond to diseases such as Ebola.A further $2.5 million is being provided to the International NGO Safety Organization to help protect humanitarian workers operating abroad.“Canada’s unwavering commitment to strengthening connections and taking collective action on global challenges will create lasting benefits for Canadians and communities worldwide,” Sarai said Saturday.Sarai also highlighted more than $25 million in Canadian funding for Haiti during a UN meeting on the country. That money is aimed at security, governance and community resilience as Haiti continues to contend with widespread instability and gang violence.The announcements come during a week of additional Canadian spending abroad.Prime Minister Mark Carney announced another $100 million in international assistance for Palestinians while at the UN, $80 million of which will be delivered as humanitarian assistance through partner organizations.Sarai also attended meetings dealing with child marriage, polio eradication, pandemic preparedness and development financing, as well as meetings on the two-state solution.He joined Carney and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand as part of Canada's delegation to the General Assembly.
