Madam Chair, I am very pleased to be here today to speak about the main estimates as they relate to Global Affairs Canada's international development portfolio.
It is now over one year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and it has not been an easy journey for our Canadian or developing country partners. With more than 160 million cases and three million deaths globally, many countries are experiencing a third wave and the highest number of new weekly cases since the start of the crisis. New and worrying variants are contributing to this deteriorating situation, including, as we have all seen so heart-wrenchingly over the last few weeks, in India.
The scale of what many are facing in developing countries is clear to everyone. We recognize that the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic have resulted in increased levels of poverty and social inequality. The World Bank has estimated that between 119 million and 124 million people may be pushed into extreme poverty due to COVID-19, reversing development gains earned over the last two decades. This has been especially notable for already disadvantaged groups, including women, who have at once been on the front lines of care and who, in many places, have also seen their economic empowerment undermined by lockdown measures.
The pandemic has also triggered an unprecedented food security crisis that is expected to cause an additional 270 million people to fall deeper into hunger.
Students around the world are continuing to experience school disruptions, the debt situation of vulnerable countries has continued to deteriorate and challenges related to accessing sufficient financial liquidity and maintaining economic stability have not diminished, particularly for least-developed countries and small-island developing states.
COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of lives and livelihoods, but Canada is committed to contributing to a robust, coordinated and determined global response that builds back better and strives to leave no one behind.
Since February 2020, Canada has committed more than $2.5 billion in international assistance in response to COVID-19. These funds have been directed, for example, toward life-saving assistance to deliver emergency health care; increased disease surveillance and infection prevention; provision of water, sanitation and hygiene; and to support continuity of education for children through programs run by our CSO partners in countries like Afghanistan and Colombia.
Canada has also advocated in several high-level forums such as the G7, G20, World Bank and the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement Lead Group for the prioritization of nutrition, empowerment of women and girls and food security at all levels of the pandemic response. Over half of these funds, more than $1.3 billion, will help facilitate equitable access to COVID-19 medical countermeasures.
We are strongly committed to the work of the access to COVID-19 tools, or ACT, accelerator and of all of its pillars, including the COVAX facility and its advanced market commitment, so that we can work toward a world where everyone everywhere has access to a safe and effective vaccine. It is an honour for me to be a member of the ACT facilitation council and to co-chair the COVAX AMC Engagement Group. Through these platforms, we have committed funding to accelerate the development and production of diagnostic tests, treatments and vaccines for COVID-19 and to facilitate equitable access for low- and medium-income countries.
Canada also supported global efforts to stabilize the economies of developing countries and prepare them for a green, blue and purple recovery. Through our joint initiative with Jamaica and the Secretary General of the United Nations on financing for the development in the era of COVID-19 and beyond, Canada is working with the international community to develop practical approaches designed to respond to the socioeconomic and financial impacts of the pandemic, namely the increase in debt levels and liquidity problems. This work builds on the leadership Canada has demonstrated over the past five years with regard to financing sustainable development goals.
Throughout this global crisis, Canada's feminist international assistance policy has proven to be a robust and strategic framework, focused as it is on those actions that support the poorest and most vulnerable populations. In the midst of this robust pandemic response, we have, in parallel, continued to implement our pre-COVID core international assistance commitments and to achieve results and impact.
For example, in the 2019-20 fiscal year, 65 million children were immunized through Canada's support to GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance; 3.2 million women were provided sexual and reproductive health and rights services through the her voice, her choice initiative; more than 300 women's rights organizations were supported through the women's voice and leadership initiative; 33,796 teachers were trained according to national standards; over five million entrepreneurs, farmers and smallholders received financial or business development services; and 11,005 peacekeepers were trained to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse.
We also continue to make progress toward our overall commitment to direct 95% of bilateral international development assistance to initiatives that target or integrate gender equality by 2021-22.
Moreover, in February, I launched the together for learning campaign, which will help refugees and forcibly displaced children and youth access to education they need and deserve.
These initiatives and others were strategic and targeted to what was needed most by the communities we support. They made a considerable difference in the context of the pandemic, reinforcing resilience and our wider sustainable development efforts.
Before I conclude, I would like to turn to the main estimates.
To assist with the pandemic response, the Public Health Agency of Canada transferred $705 million in 2020-21 in new funding for international partnerships to Global Affairs Canada to support access by developing countries to COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. This includes the procurement and effective delivery and administration of vaccines and therapeutics. The Public Health Agency of Canada will be transferring $75 million later this year in additional support for this pillar to be disbursed in 2021-22.
Additional funding provided to Global Affairs Canada in 2020-21 to support our international assistance response to COVID-19 included $120 million to support the ACT-Accelerator and $400 million to support the humanitarian and development response to COVID-19. More recently, in budget 2021, the government committed an additional $375 million to further support Canada's international COVID-19 response in 2021-22. These resources will also be directed to the ACT-Accelerator partnership.
These investments have been critical to our international assistance efforts to respond to the acute health impacts of the pandemic and will contribute to supporting a sustainable and equitable recovery for all.
This has been an unprecedented year. Our government is committed to implementing the feminist international assistance policy, and we are working hard to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through these efforts, we are achieving results and generating positive impact, helping to build a more peaceful, inclusive and prosperous world for all.