Ministers Coveney and Cannon launch the 2016 Irish Aid Annual Report
26/9/17
Ministers Coveney and Cannon launch the 2016 Irish Aid Annual Report
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney, T.D., with Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development, Ciaran Cannon T.D., will today launch the 2016 Irish Aid Annual Report.
The report sets out the results achieved by Ireland’s international development programme, Irish Aid. Ireland’s total overseas development assistance amounted to €724 million in 2016 with a strong focus on least developed countries. €194 million was provided in humanitarian assistance in 2016 in response to the unprecedented level of humanitarian need due to conflict, natural disaster and migration.
Speaking about the results highlighted in the report, Minister Coveney said: “2016 saw the scale of humanitarian need in the world reach record levels with over 130 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. Ireland is committed to providing humanitarian assistance to ease the plight of civilians caught up in conflicts and natural disasters. Ireland’s humanitarian assistance in 2016 included €25m to the Syrian crisis focussed on helping those inside Syria and €29m to countries in the Horn of Africa. Our assistance is to help meet the immediate and most basic needs: food, clean water and shelter; and access to health care and education.”
The report also highlights the work Irish Aid is doing, on behalf of the Irish people, in Ireland’s key partner countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Irish Aid works directly in eight key partner countries: Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam and Zambia.
Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development, Ciaran Cannon said: “We are working with governments in our partner countries to tackle climate change and food insecurity, and improve health and education services. This is critical as sustainable development in all corners of the world is the only long-term solution to the complex challenges facing the world today.”
ENDS
Press Office
26 September 2017
Notes to the editor:
- Irish Aid is the Government’s programme for overseas development. It is managed by the Development Cooperation Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
- In 2016, Ireland’s total overseas development assistance amounted to €724 million, representing a 12% increase on 2015.
- Ireland provides 0.33% of its GNP to ODA, placing us joint 13th with Spain amongst the OECD donors on performance in reaching the UN 0.7% target. Ireland comes ahead of countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
- 47% of Ireland’s total ODA is channelled through selected multilateral partners, 23% through Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and 7% through the national systems of our partner countries.
- Of Ireland’s total ODA, 27% was spent on humanitarian assistance and the remainder in pursuit of Ireland’s objectives in international development: eradicating poverty; addressing global hunger and under nutrition; provision of essential basic services in health, education and social protection; promoting inclusive economic growth and respect for human rights and accountability.
- €25 million was provided to the Syrian crisis in 2016, bringing our total support for the crisis to €67.5 million since 2012. During 2016, Ireland worked closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross to assist those in besieged areas inside Syria. A strong focus was placed on also working with UNICEF to help refugee children access education services through the No Lost Generation initiative. Ireland’s response to the Syrian crisis also included the deployment of 43 Rapid Response Corps members to assist UN agencies working with Syrian refugees in the region.
- €29 million was provided to assist the Horn of Africa. Communities in South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, coping with drought and conflict, received much needed food, clean water, shelter and treatment for malnutrition.
- Yemen’s escalating crisis saw an alarming 18.8 million people in need of assistance by the year end. Ireland stepped up its response providing over €4million in humanitarian assistance.
- Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi were the top five recipient countries of Ireland’s bilateral ODA in 2016, where remarkable achievements were seen in recent years:
- Ethiopia reduced maternal mortality rates by 40% since 2011.
- Social protection services expanded in Mozambique to reach more than 430,000 households in 2016.
- In Tanzania, employment was created for over 10,000 farmers through an Irish Aid supported programme.
- New rates of HIV infection have dropped dramatically in Uganda almost halving since 2011.
- In Malawi, stunting in children has dropped by 10%, from 47% in 2010 to 37% in 2016.