Montreal, April 24, 2025 – Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada (DPCC) is proud to announce new funding from the Government of Canada to support projects with local partners that will directly reach over 215,000 people affected by conflicts in three countries over the next two years.
Due to the unprecedented scale of armed conflicts and the global climate emergency, humanitarian needs are reaching levels never seen before. The Global Humanitarian Overview estimates that 305 million people around the world will require urgent humanitarian assistance in 2025. Forced displacement rates, too, have doubled over a decade, with one in 67 people being forcibly displaced by mid-2024. These trends motivate DPCC to keep addressing the root causes of poverty, fighting for social justice and fulfilling the moral duty to bring immediate relief to our sisters and brothers in need.
Bangladesh ($2 million, 12 months)
Having fled persecution in Myanmar (Burma), over a million Rohingya refugees now live in Bangladesh. More than half of them are children. The refugees have no formal legal status and their rights to movement and work are extremely restricted. Water and sanitation facilities are inadequate in the 33 refugee camps. Overcrowding and the rugged terrain hamper security, privacy and mobility, especially for women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities.
Our project, implemented with Caritas Bangladesh, will provide safe and gender-sensitive shelter; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services; and protection services to 97,611 refugees in 20,809 vulnerable households in seven camps. The project will upgrade existing shelters and build new ones; facilitate community-led site improvements; increase access to safe drinking water, gender-sensitive sanitation facilities and waste management services; promote public hygiene; distribute hygiene kits and menstrual products; provide case management and referrals to women experiencing gender-based violence; and provide individual and group mental health and psychosocial services.
Ukraine ($2 million, 12 months)
Over three years of war since the Russian invasion of February 2022 have had profound impacts on Ukraine. One in three Ukrainians—about 12.7 million people—are estimated to need humanitarian assistance in 2025. Health care and shelter are among the greatest needs. Family separations, trauma and unaddressed mental health needs have strained people’s resilience and parents’ caregiving capacities. This makes people more vulnerable to diverse risks, including gender-based violence, human trafficking and child abuse.
DPCC will therefore help CAFOD implement an integrated, locally led multisectoral project for single-person-headed households with children and/or older dependents. Caseworkers will conduct person-centered protection assessments with 6,250 individuals (caregivers, children and older dependents) to identify their material, protection and mental health care needs. This will permit the development of case-tailored, context-relevant and gender- and age-sensitive protection services, including peer support groups, individual counselling, children’s groups and activities, and the provision of emergency shelters, non-food items and cash assistance.
Sudan ($4 million, 24 months)
The conflict that broke out in Sudan in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has created the world’s largest displacement crisis. As of April 2025, the conflict had forcibly displaced 12.7 million people, including 8.6 million internally. Targeted and indiscriminate attacks and the destruction of civilian infrastructure are making life very difficult, especially for women and children, who make up the majority of internally displaced people (IDPs).
In this context, DPCC will implement a multisectoral humanitarian response with CAFOD. The project will reach 111, 618 IDPs, refugees and members of host communities in the states of North Darfur, White Nile and Al Qadarif. Women are expected to constitute about 60 per cent of the people served. Gender-sensitive protection services and facilities will be offered, along with activities aimed at preventing gender-based violence. The project’s water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) components will include the rehabilitation of water points; the building of secure, gender-sensitive latrines and showers; and the distribution of hygiene kits and menstrual products. Nutrition screening and multipurpose cash assistance to help project participants meet basic needs will also be provided.
Solidarity: the Canadian way
Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada thanks the Government of Canada for its generosity and trust. We also salute our partners’ commitment to lifesaving work in the most challenging circumstances. Substantial and appreciated as its support is, the government will have to step up international aid given how humanitarian needs are growing because of increasing conflicts and crises and the disastrous USAID cuts.
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About Development and Peace – Caritas Canada
Development and Peace — Caritas Canada is the official international development organization of the Catholic Church in Canada. It works in partnership with local organizations in over 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin American and the Middle East to create greater justice in the world and to act in solidarity with the most vulnerable people.
For more information, contact:
Minaz Kerawala
Communications and Public Relations Advisor
514 257-8710 ext. 328 | mkerawala@devp.org
