I welcome His Excellency, Mr. Liam MacGabhann, Irish ambassador to Malawi, Mr. Seán McMahon and Ms Fiona Penollar from Irish Aid, Ms Angela O'Neill De Giulio, regional director for southern Africa, and Mr. Michael Hanly, desk officer for Angola, Malawi and Zimbabwe, from Concern Worldwide.
Project Malawi: Discussion.
Will the Chairman clarify who is attending this meeting and who is not? Is there anyone present from Irish Aid?
Irish Aid is a division of the Department of Foreign Affairs. If the Deputy so wishes, we can ask people to raise their hands when I read out their names.
On the format, who is going to give the presentation? Will there be more than one presentation?
Also present are Mr. Séamus Collins, Trócaire's programme manager for Africa, Sr. Ursula Sharpe, MMM, Fr. Patrick Ó Maille, SPS — who is not yet here — Honorary Consul to Malawi, and Br. Ronan Lennon, OH, from the Irish Missionary Union. Some of their colleagues are also present in the Gallery.
The subject of our deliberations today is Malawi, a small, desperately poor country in central east Africa. Over the years, the committee has produced in-depth reports on a number of countries that are selected as programme or priority states by Ireland. Last year, for example, we issued high-quality reports on Mozambique and Vietnam. These and earlier reports were prepared through a process which began with detailed discussions at meetings of the committee regarding Ireland's aid programmes and its overall relationship with the countries in question. In preparing these reports, we begin by hearing presentations and receiving submissions from representatives of Irish Aid and many of the NGOs that are active in the countries under review. These presentations and submissions greatly enrich the content and quality of our reports.
Today's meeting on Malawi continues the committee's interest in Ireland's aid programme, particularly in the context of what Irish Aid is proposing to do in assisting the development of the programme countries. The active role being played by Irish NGOs in individual countries also forms an integral part of our reports.
Malawi was designated as Ireland's ninth programme country last year. Ireland opened an embassy in Lilongwe, Malawi's capital, last year in order to implement Irish Aid's development programme there. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and in every one of the standard statistics used by the UN to measure a country's level of development, it comes near the bottom. Its per capita GDP, on the PPP basis, is $667. Under the normal measurement, the figure is approximately €128.
Malawi ranks 164 out of 177 countries in the United Nations Development Programme's human development index. Life expectancy is 46.3 years and some 83% of the population live on less than $2 per day. Approximately 14% of the population between the ages of 15 and 49 are HIV positive. Over 550,000 of its 1 million orphans lost their parents through HIV-AIDS. In addition to these stark and terrible statistics, Malawi faces even more enormous problems. Since 2002, for example, it has suffered severe food shortages and famine on a number of occasions as a result of its failure to produce enough food following adverse weather conditions.
It is against the background of this brief and grim summary of what life is like in Malawi that the committee begins the process of preparing its report on that country. Today, we will hear presentations from the representatives of Irish Aid, Concern, Trócaire and the Irish Missionary Union, IMU, on what they are doing in Malawi. We will begin by hearing from Mr. Liam MacGabhann, Ireland's first ambassador to Malawi, on what the Irish Government will do to help relieve the terrible plight of the people of Malawi in the immediate future. We will then hear from the representatives of the NGOs.
I wish to advise that whereas members enjoy absolute privilege in respect of utterances made in committee, witnesses do not enjoy such privilege. Accordingly, caution should be exercised, particularly with regard to references of a personal nature.
H.E. Mr. Liam MacGabhann
I am very honoured to be here to discuss Irish Aid's new programme country. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and is ranked 164 out of 177 countries in the 2007-08 human development index. It has experienced severe food shortages and famine on a number of occasions since 2002, usually following adverse weather events. Its prospects for future economic growth are constrained by a high reliance on subsistence agriculture, poor infrastructure, a high prevalence of HIV-AIDS, high rates of population growth and a high susceptibility to both drought and flooding.
Following the food security crisis in 2002, Irish Aid funded programmes of humanitarian assistance and support for the strengthening of Malawian civil society organisations. This funding, approximately €4 million per year, has focused largely on governance and food security vulnerability. In addition, Irish Aid directly funds the Irish missionaries and NGOs, such as Trócaire, Self-Help, GOAL, Oxfam and Concern in support of activities implemented in Malawi. In 2007, this support totalled approximately €3.5 million. I have had the opportunity to visit several of the projects managed by these Irish groups and the results they are achieving are impressive by any standards. It is important to acknowledge that work.
Malawi is highly dependent on official development assistance. In 2007, net ODA was equivalent to approximately US $420 million, which equates to more than 40% of annual government expenditure. Principal donors include the UK, the US, the European Commission, Germany, Norway, Canada and Japan. Funding and technical assistance is also provided by the World Bank and the United Nations. For the most part, these funds are directed at priorities that have been clearly outlined in the Malawi growth and development strategy, which is the overarching policy for the development of Malawi for the period 2007 to 2011.
Despite very high rates of poverty, the current President has demonstrated a commitment to sound management of the economy, responding effectively to food shortages and improving the effectiveness of domestic and external financial resources. A recent mission from the International Monetary Fund has confirmed that the economy is being well managed and that it now enjoys annual average growth rates of more than 7%, declining inflation rates, and reduced levels of domestic borrowing.
What I have said up to now provides some of the context for the decision to open an Irish Embassy in Malawi. Also important is the decision of the Government to increase Ireland's development aid contribution to 0.7% of GNP by 2012. Following the commitment in the White Paper on Irish Aid to commence two new programme countries in Africa, the Government approved the opening of a new Irish Embassy and the establishment of a bilateral aid programme in Malawi. The new Irish Embassy opened in November 2007 and we have been active since in getting the embassy off the ground and in engaging with key stakeholders.
The opening of the embassy in Malawi marks a significant deepening of relations between the two countries. My colleagues and I have received a warm welcome from Ministers and key officials in the Malawi Government. There is a relatively small donor community in Malawi and the good reputation of Irish Aid is clearly well known to the Malawian Government. The fact that our aid is untied and that we wish to work in partnership with the government is a key factor.
To coincide with the establishment of a new country programme, Irish Aid funding to Malawi will increase substantially in the years ahead. It is planned that a multi-year country assistance strategy will be presented for approval in early 2009. The sectoral and thematic focus of this programme will be considered during the remainder of this year. In preparing this programme, compliance with the principles laid down in the Paris declaration will be a key issue for us.
For 2008, the embassy has prepared an interim country programme, building on our experience in Malawi to date in the areas of governance, agriculture and food security, and vulnerability, with a proposed budget of €10 million. I will say a little about each of these areas. In the area of governance, Irish Aid funding will be directed first at supporting the implementation of a nation-wide population census. The National Statistics Office is coordinating the preparations for the national population census, which is scheduled to be conducted in June 2008. The last census was conducted in 1998. An update on population statistics is an urgent necessity in advance of the 2009 elections and for the purposes of informing national planning and resource allocation. The projected cost of the census is €14 million, which will be met through contributions from government and development partners. Ireland will contribute €2 million in support of the national census through a trust fund to be established by the United Nations Family Planning Association.
We propose to support the preparations for the 2009 presidential and parliamentary elections. Malawi is a very young democracy, the first multi-party elections having been held in 1994. The fourth democratic presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in May 2009. The Malawi Electoral Commission is charged with advancing preparations for the elections. The United Nations Development Programme has established a trust fund through which donor funds earmarked for supporting the 2009 elections will be channelled and it is proposed that Ireland would contribute €500,000 to this fund.
The Irish Embassy will closely monitor political developments in the lead up to and in the aftermath of the elections. We are also working very closely with the European Commission office and other EU embassies with a view to arranging for EU election observers to oversee the electoral process next year. The Government of Malawi has offered its support for this. Ireland has the local presidency of the European Union in Malawi and is coordinating all EU activities relating to Malawi for the next six months.
To complement Ireland's support to the Malawi Electoral Commission, it is proposed to provide funding assistance to certain civil society organisations to improve public education and awareness of democratic principles, to encourage the people to register for the elections and to train local election monitors. We will contribute €500,000 in support of programmes aimed at deepening civil society participation in the electoral process.
In the area of good governance, we will continue our assistance to civil society organisations in Malawi that have a focus on strengthening democracy, scrutinising the extent to which public expenditure is poverty focused, advocating greater volumes and effectiveness of government expenditure on agriculture, and advocating for an accelerated response to the enormous funding and capacity needs in the health and education sectors. I have provided examples in my presentation of the type of organisations we will support. We propose a budget of €500,000 for this component in 2008.
In the area of agriculture and food security, for 2008 Irish financial assistance will be directed at Concern Universal, the International Potato Centre and the World Agroforestry Centre. The first of these, Concern Universal is a well respected international organisation with a very strong country presence in Malawi. Its primary objective is to work at local level supporting livelihood and food security programmes in three rural districts helping communities to become more food and nutrition secure, to improve their access to water and sanitation and to prevent and respond to HIV-AIDS.
We have provided funding assistance to Concern Universal since 2002. An independent evaluation carried out in 2007 highlighted the positive impact of Irish Aid funded activities on the lives of rural communities. We will continue funding in 2008 for the completion of community supported projects that were commenced over the past two years. The main objectives are completion of a rural based irrigation programme which has the potential for increasing the number of crops harvested per year from one to three and reducing very high rates of childhood malnutrition. We will also explore opportunities to provide longer term support for improved food and nutrition security to local communities. A budget of €1.5 million is proposed for 2008.
Our second target agency is the International Potato Centre in Malawi which we helped in 2007 to commence the implementation of the first phase of a three-year programme. This programme is aimed at helping Malawian farmers to diversify their crops by growing potatoes, known in Malawi as Irish potatoes, and by working with private sector industry to guarantee better prices. In the first year of its operation, this innovative project has attracted much media attention in Malawi because of its success in increasing household income for farmers. It is important to recognise the importance of this project as a flagship one for Irish Aid given that 2008 is the International Year of the Potato. Funding support of €320,000 is proposed for this project in 2008.
We also propose to assist the World Agroforestry Centre. This is a research centre with a programme aimed at improving the productivity of agriculture and improving the livelihood of smallholder farmers in selected districts in Malawi. Over the past three years Malawi has achieved large increases in crop yields due mainly to chemical fertilisers. This World Agroforestry Centre programme aims to demonstrate that very significant increases in productivity can also be attained by the use of natural organic fertilisers, obtained by growing certain varieties of fruit trees with cash and subsistence crops. It aims to demonstrate that the use of natural fertilisers from certain species of fruit trees can greatly increase the productivity of land and improve income for smallholder farmers. The potential for natural fertilisers in Malawi is important because of the recent increase in the cost and diminished availability of chemical fertilisers. The importance of the sustainable management of agricultural land is fully recognised in Malawi's new national agriculture development programme, awaiting final approval by the Malawian Government. We propose to allocate funding assistance of €1,020,000 to this project in 2008.
In the area of vulnerability, we have responded to recurrent crises and most recently to floods which were experienced across much of the country in January and February this year. It is clear, however, that work is needed on long term preventative measures. I visited a number of areas in the east and the south of the country and witnessed at first hand the devastating impact of these floods. Irish Aid will identify how it can contribute to strengthening disaster preparedness at national and district level. This is a core component of the United Nations sub-regional appeal for Malawi which was launched to respond to humanitarian needs emerging from persistent heavy rains earlier this year. Discussions have already commenced with the Department of Disaster and Management Affairs and a number of local groups, with a view to exploring how Irish Aid can contribute to the better anticipation and management of adverse events that have such a negative impact on vulnerable people living in Malawi. We propose a budget of €1 million to be allocated for new activities in this area in 2008.
We also propose in 2008 to support the United Nations One UN programme in Malawi. The UN has initiated pilot programmes with the objective of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of United Nations funds and programmes at country level. The idea is to rationalise the efforts of the several UN agencies into what is called a One UN approach. This is consistent with Ireland's ongoing political and financial support for a stronger UN. Irish Aid is already supporting One UN pilots in Vietnam, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is proposed to allocate €110,000 to this initiative in 2008.As we are in the preliminary stages of planning for a longer term involvement in Malawi, we will be exploring further means of targeting assistance throughout 2008. Given the strong links between food insecurity and poverty-vulnerability in Malawi, we will keep an eye on several initiatives currently underway which could provide an opportunity for Irish Aid to enhance its support to this area in 2008. These include a new national policy on nutrition, the finalisation of a national policy of social protection and the development of a joint financing arrangement and support for the Government of Malawi agricultural inputs and maize markets programme, which provides direct support to poor farmers for the procurement of fertiliser and seed.
Over the coming months, these initiatives will be appraised and discussed with Government and other donors to identify opportunities for Irish Aid support. In addition, the embassy will appraise a proposal to support the Government of Malawi in training teachers for rural communities. A budget of €2,350,000 is proposed for new activities to be supported in 2008.
We plan to undertake some studies in 2008 which can inform the development of the new country strategy. We will be contracting short term technical support to assist us in advancing the implementation of the expenditure programme. A total of €200,000 will be allocated for this work. I will conclude with some comments on management and oversight. The Irish Aid programme in Malawi is managed by the Embassy of Ireland. The head of development reports to the ambassador and is currently supported by the second secretary and some locally recruited consultants. In the course of 2008, it is anticipated that additional programme specialists will be taken on by the embassy. These will be supported by staff in the areas of administration and financial management and audit. Adequate and appropriately skilled staff resources will be critical for the future development and management of the country programme.
While I have only been in Malawi for just over six months, I have seen and heard enough to be aware of the extent of the problems facing the government in its efforts to develop the country. As I have said previously, my colleagues and myself will continue to explore the options where Irish Aid can make a real contribution.
For my term in the embassy I have set two broad objectives. The first of these is to make a tangible improvement to the livelihoods of the Malawian people. The second broad objective is to start the process of improving systems and building capacity within the government and official structures in order that they can ultimately deal with the problems themselves.
The next presentation will be from Ms Angela O'Neill De Giulio of Concern.
Ms Angela O’Neill De Giulio
I am pleased to be here today to speak on behalf of Concern on the type of work we are doing. We have worked in Malawi since 2002 when an emergency response to the food crisis was established and we have subsequently moved into longer term development work. Concern now has programmes in four locations, Lilongwe district which is a rather large district surrounding the capital, Dowa, Nkota Nkota and Nsange in the south. Dowa and Nkota Nkota are in the middle area of the country. We are focusing on health and more specifically on the areas of nutrition, on livelihood security which is mostly improving food security and social protection which is an area we have recently moved into. We are hoping this year to move into the area of education. In addition we will respond to emergencies as they arise in the ongoing nature of the work. While Concern does not have a stand-alone programme on HIV-AIDS, it is a fundamental issue within all our programmes and affects all the work of all the programmes. In addition, we are focused on improving the area of disaster risk reduction which means reducing the vulnerability to disasters and hazards.
The first area and large part of our work is focused in the health sector. Nutrition is our main focus. Concern's health programmes in Malawi concentrate on using the community therapeutic care, referred to as the CTC approach to the treatment of severe acute malnutrition. This is an approach pioneered by Concern in Ethiopia in 2000 along with Valid International. The committee may have heard about this programme in the past. It is a public health approach to dealing with severe malnutrition. The approach focuses on facilitating the treatment of malnourished children as out patients close to their home rather than in centres many miles away where they risk further infections and where parents are long distances away from other family members. We treat the children with simple medical protocols and with a nutrient-rich specialised therapeutic food. In early 2007 the main UN agencies endorsed this approach as the way forward for treating severe acute malnutrition. The World Health Organisation has endorsed it as the approach for that treatment. Concern and the UN organisation are recommending that all national governments adopt this approach for the treatment of malnutrition We are working in partnership with the Malawian Ministry of Health and the district health offices to institutionalise CTC as the approach to dealing with malnutrition in Malawi. It is further envisaged that the approach could be used to treat people living with HIV-AIDS. Concern has set up a CTC advisory service within the Ministry of Health to train staff and to build the capacity of health staff to enable them to roll out this approach.
The challenges in addressing the health system in Malawi are enormous. The staffing and capacity of the health system is rather meagre. Malawi has only 156 physicians working in the public health system for a total population of 12 million people. The current life expectancy is around 40 years. Malnutrition is a contributory factor in more than 50% of child deaths and remains one of the biggest public health problems. One in every two Malawian children is chronically malnourished. Child malnutrition has remained virtually unchanged since 1992. In addition, the HIV-AIDS pandemic has impacted negatively on this situation. This is one of the reasons Concern chose to focus on nutrition as a key element within its programme.
In order to institutionalise this approach the Government of Malawi will require assistance to identify technical and financial resources necessary for the implementation of CTC. Support is required at policy level nationally to facilitate the implementation of this approach. We believe that the Irish aid programme can support us in this area, especially as Malawi develops a new policy on nutrition. We can make an input into this area together.
When one tries to institutionalise something within a health system, one needs to learn from other major programmes. In the case of the child survival programme, we need to concentrate on matters such as the integrated management of childhood illnesses, mother and child health care and HIV-AIDS programmes. If one is to develop a successful nutrition programme, one needs to have a strong health system in the first instance. This is something we actively hope to address in conjunction with the Malawian health Ministry.
The second sector on which we are focusing is the area of livelihoods and food security. Our interventions in this area are aimed at improving the livelihood options and incomes of the most vulnerable and marginalised households. We are trying to increase agricultural production, improve natural resource management, provide access to markets, strengthen civil society and support those who are advocating community rights. We are working with a range of community-based organisations, local non-governmental organisations, farmers' associations and co-operatives and local government institutions.
As part of our work on livelihood security, we are placing a particular focus on disaster risk reduction. The measures we are implementing are designed to protect livelihoods from risks and hazards. The Irish ambassador to Malawi, Mr. MacGabhann, mentioned that such risks are very prevalent in Malawi. We want to prevent disasters and when they happen, we try to mitigate their effects. We need to be prepared for such events.
We face enormous challenges in Malawi. The vast majority of the population generates its income from agriculture over a four-month period of the year. There are high levels of unemployment during the rest of the year. Approximately 12% of Malawian farmers use improved seed, 23% of them use fertiliser and 18% employ hired labour. Almost 50% of farmers harvest just one crop each year. As just half of Malawi's land is suitable for agriculture, there is huge pressure on land, especially as the country's population grows.
Most Malawian women who are involved in agriculture are smallholders. They live on less than 20 US cent a day. Approximately 70% of smallholders are women. They are the last to benefit from the wealth that trickles down as a consequence of economic and agricultural reform. Any assistance they have received has been minimal. Smallholders have inadequate access to agricultural extension services, training and credit and, as a result, they remain poor and have few opportunities to escape. While land reform is under way, women are often disinherited as traditional law prevails.
Civil society in Malawi is at a fledging stage, with few established local non-governmental organisations. Many community-based organisations have been established in recent times to access moneys made available by the National AIDS Commission of Malawi. Most such bodies have very low capacity — they will be unable to have an impact on large areas of coverage for some time to come. Support is desperately required to develop civil society in Malawi.
We hear about global fuel and food price increases on a daily basis. It is predicted that increased malnutrition will be evident in Malawi by September of this year, which is the traditional hunger period. As food prices increase, malnutrition increases. The Malawian Government recently reinstated an export ban on maize. That will partly mitigate the impact of food price increases in the short term. In the longer term, it is expected that if national production does not meet demand — if there are any problems with the harvest this year or next year — the people of Malawi will feel the negative impacts of global fuel and food price increases. Such increases particularly affect the ultra poor. Some 80% of the incomes of such people is currently spent on food. While smallholder farmers may receive a higher return for their harvests, traders may not pass on such increases to smaller farmers. The amount of food that can be accessed by those who do not have productive resources, and are therefore unlikely to benefit from increased commodity prices, will decrease in direct proportion to the increase in price. This will inevitably fuel the utilisation of negative coping practices — for example, people might sell their assets to feed themselves. The Malawian Government and the international community will need to implement effective and timely policy.
I wish to speak about the need for emergency response. When we came up with an emergency response to the food crisis of 2002, we focused on the treatment of severely malnourished children. In 2006 there was a severe localised harvest failure in Dowa, which is one of our programme areas. At that time, we initiated a pilot cash transfer programme to see if the provision of cash would work as a successful alternative to the provision of food to people facing emergencies. Smart bank cards were made available to people, to be used with a kind of mobile banking system. Those availing of the service were identified by their fingerprints when they went to get cash. Payments were linked to the price of food on the market at the time. The number of people in each household was also taken into account. This beneficial project allowed families to use their injections of cash as they saw fit. It ensured that cash flowed directly into the local economy and that basic necessities were provided. It created a chain reaction whereby traders received cash, schools and clinics received fees and local stores had additional trade.
Concern is continuing to operate pilot programmes of this nature in a number of countries. It is closely monitoring the development of the new social protection policy, the third draft of which has been prepared by the Malawian Government. The aim of that policy is to reduce poverty and enable poor people to move out of poverty and vulnerability. It is hoped to achieve this aim by making direct cash transfers to the ultra poor, while offering other opportunities such as public works and microfinance to the poor who have some productive labour. Concern hopes to engage in further pilot approaches to support social safety nets and social protection. It intends to improve its input into the development of the national social protection policy. It is aiming to accelerate the roll-out of the national social protection programme throughout Malawi.
Concern is hoping to focus on the primary education sector in Malawi this year. While it will be the first time we have embarked on an education programme in that country, we have many years of experience in other countries. In the past year, we have completed a small study of the level of abuse, including gender-based violence, in schools. This small snapshot of what is happening in the Malawian primary school system revealed a shocking and frightening level of sexual and physical abuse against children as young as six. We will try to take action in that regard as we develop a new programme.
I ask Mr. Séamus Collins of Trócaire to address the committee.
Mr. Séamus Collins
Trócaire has been supporting development initiatives in Malawi, in co-operation with church and secular local partner organisations, for over 30 years. With Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, Malawi is one of Trócaire's priority countries in southern Africa. Trócaire significantly increased its spending to the current level of approximately €1.6 million per annum in response to the food security crisis earlier in this decade, which has been mentioned. It is envisaged that this expenditure will increase again in the coming years. Trócaire established an office in Lilongwe in June 2007 as part of the internal restructuring and regionalisation of the organisation. The staff of the office comprises a country representative, two programme officers and four support staff. The Malawi country office reports to the regional office in Mozambique. Trócaire recently launched a strategic planning process for the country programme and we envisage that it will be completed by September of this year.
Trócaire's areas of activity in Malawi include livelihood security, HIV-AIDS interventions and the development of civil society. My colleague from Concern, Ms O'Neill De Giulio, alluded to the problems caused by HIV-AIDS. Trócaire's approach to the significant HIV-AIDS pandemic in Malawi involves ensuring that HIV-AIDS considerations are central to all its programme areas and encouraging partner organisations to do likewise. The outcomes of our regional HIV scoping study, which we recently concluded, will be evident in the Malawi programme in due course.
We are focusing on the issue of gender in all our areas of intervention throughout the world, including Malawi. With the partner organisations we support, we are bringing gender sensitivity to all our programmes. Our livelihood security programme was planned in the aftermath of a sequence of emergency and rehabilitation responses to food shortages in Malawi and eastern Zambia in the early years of this decade. The aim of the programme is to reduce the vulnerability of people in selected dioceses — Dedza, Zomba, Chikwawa and Mangochi — to external climatic and other shocks arising from food shortages, HIV and AIDS, reliance on a single crop and unfavourable weather conditions.
The programme is primarily based on agricultural initiatives, working towards ensuring improved food security for individual families. It also includes a significant element of disaster risk reduction interventions to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change on vulnerable rural populations. Reducing risk is key to breaking the poverty and vulnerability trap in which the majority of the Malawian population finds itself. Elements of these programmes include encouraging crop diversification through the planting of a wide variety of crops which will rely on different conditions. It will also include the promotion of basic irrigation techniques, reforestation, protection of river banks, winter cropping and the provision of the necessary tools, as well as the distribution of livestock under a rotating scheme to vary the sources of food and income available to households.
The long-term vision of the programme is to support communities' understanding of the factors that make them vulnerable to food shortages. As a result, they should be able to tackle these issues using skills and resources available locally to secure sustainable food access and meet basic needs, even in times of floods and drought. It is important to note that the policy environment within which this occurs also needs to be addressed. For this reason, Trócaire supports a number of civil society organisations which focus on food and livelihood security.
The vulnerability of poor communities has been highlighted in recent months by rising food prices at global level. While there may be opportunities for individual producers to benefit from this scenario, non-producers of food are hit hardest, as are those whose crops fail. The price of a basic food basket, as monitored on a monthly basis by the Centre for Social Concern, one of Trócaire's partners, rose by 30% between December 2007 and March this year.
The development of civil society is key to long-term, sustainable development in the countries in which Trócaire works. Civil society in Malawi is relatively free, albeit somewhat weak as it began to develop only after the end of the Banda era. With 30% of the population Catholic, the Catholic Church is a key institution in the civil society arena and the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace is at the forefront of working for accountability and transparency in government. Trócaire believes strongly in the development of Malawian civil society and supports a range of partners in this sector, from the aforementioned justice and peace commission to the Malawi health equity network, economic justice network and the civil society agricultural network.
Of considerable concern to civil society groups in Malawi are the presidential and assembly elections planned for May 2009. A number of Trócaire's partners are already organising the production of what they are describing as a "civil society manifesto", detailing the issues civil society believes should be prominent in election campaign material. A series of district, regional and national meetings are under way to mobilise opinion. The finished documents will be presented to incumbents and candidates alike. It is the intention of our partners to further monitor the fulfilment of election promises by the incoming government.
Trócaire's civil society partners are anxious that the upcoming electoral process will be free, fair and transparent. To this end, they are preparing a programme of voter education and election monitoring, building on the experience of monitoring the elections in 2004.
It is important to detail the areas in which working through partnership adds value to the work of development in Malawi. Trócaire has invested a great deal of practical and technical support in the food security programme, including the secondment of staff to the national office of Caritas in Malawi. In addition, training and monitoring in project cycle and financial management has been provided to four diocesan Caritas agencies. Trócaire is strongly engaged with all programme partners, which have improved significantly in terms of systems and impact. Financial management support is also provided by an external firm of consultants which does financial and organisational governance training, including oversights of budgets for all staff and board members of partner organisations. The development of this local capacity will provide a sustainable basis for development.
It is also fundamental to Trócaire's approach to development that it seeks opportunities for appropriate advocacy initiatives, with a view to addressing issues of structural inequality. Even on programmes which might be considered to have a service delivery component, such as food security, partners are encouraged to expand their perspective to the broader policy area and seek to influence this for the better. Through our governance and human rights programme, Trócaire has been prominent in encouraging Malawi's nascent civil society network to collaborate in advocacy work. We would be pleased if the joint committee were to take an active interest in the election process as it rolls out to 2009 and, where possible and appropriate, to see that resources are provided to contribute to an outcome that is good for the Malawian people.
I will close with the words of two people. The first was a person involved in election monitoring in 2004 who said that the "only way to wipe out corruption is to build the capacity of people to demand accountability". The second was a development worker from Europe who stated during a discussion I had a number of years ago in Mozambique: "We need to work hard to understand the complexity of the challenges placed by rural areas in Africa."
I thank Mr. Collins. We will now have a joint presentation of roughly four minutes by Br. Ronan Lennon and Sr. Ursula Sharpe, who will speak first. I understand Fr. Pádraig Ó Máille is on his way to the meeting and will also contribute.
Sr. Ursula Sharpe
I thank the Chairman and the joint committee for inviting us to make a submission. As the Chairman indicated, each of us was asked to speak for two minutes. The representatives of Concern and Trócaire have given a good overview of and background to the current position in Malawi. We, as missionaries, fit it with the work being done by these organisations. The Medical Missionaries of Mary have been in Malawi since 1962. Our focus is health-related, although we are also involved in agriculture and education because health, as a major area, spills out into all areas.
As Ms O'Neill De Giulio noted, there are 156 physicians in Malawi for a population of almost 13 million. Although a nurse training school trains 60 nurses per annum, more than 100 nurses leave the country each year, with the result that 64% of nursing posts remain unfilled. There are more Malawian doctors working in greater Manchester than in Malawi. The country's life expectancy is 40 years, while the HIV prevalence rate is more than 14% and the maternal mortality rate is 1,800 per 100,000. Ireland's maternal mortality rate is extremely low in comparison. Malawi has approximately 1 million orphans and the country is served by only four pharmacists. While it is not good to bombard people with statistics, these figures give an idea of the challenges we face.
It is almost impossible to secure the services of health professionals or paramedics in Malawi, especially in the three areas in which the Medical Missionaries of Mary are active. We work in the south where famine is endemic — the region was badly affected by the famine of a few years ago — in the centre of the country and in Lilongwe. The European Union has allocated significant sums of money to the training school for nurses in Lilongwe. It is a pity its graduates are all leaving the country given that we spend our time in Ireland seeking doctors and nurses to go to Malawi.
As has been noted, education is a shaky area. The Medical Missionaries of Mary are involved in this area and have sourced funds to build classrooms and upgrade teachers. We are also involved with anti-retroviral drugs which are available for those with AIDS. Unfortunately, there are not enough medical professionals to administer these drugs in more rural areas, with the result that many people die of AIDS, deaths that should be preventable in this day and age. We are involved in poverty reduction programmes, particularly with agricultural programmes that aim to improve the nutritional status of children. Another problem in Malawi is the terrible dependency syndrome that exists. When Hastings Banda was President, everything was given by him. This "give me, give me" attitude is still very much there and hard to counteract
Br. Ronan Lennon
It is an honour, responsibility and privilege for me on behalf of the Brothers Hospitaller Order of St. John of God to outline our involvement in Malawi. While the order has been involved in Africa for more than 50 years, it has been involved in the northern part of Malawi with a base in Mzuzu for the past 15 years.
Founded in 1538 in Spain, the order is an international health care organisation dedicated to the care of the poor, the sick and the disabled with more than 250 hospitals and services in 51 countries with 50,000 staff.
The main area of our work in Malawi is in mental health services. When the order arrived in Malawi 15 years ago, there was only one psychiatrist, Dr. Wilkinson from England. Having heard the statistics from the ambassador and other colleagues, the committee will be aware of the scale of poverty in the country. The implications of this for mental health services are phenomenal. The order has established a comprehensive mental health service in the northern region. It has a 39-bed facility which provides more than 7,000 bed-nights a year. Our outpatient clinics have more than 60,000 attendances each year.
The order is committed to community mental health services which are acceptable to African ways and culture. From the start, we became involved with the chiefs and leaders in the villages to educate them so they in turn could refer people on. From the start, we believed if we were to make a difference it would have to be in the education area.
We have been involved in the training of profession mental health workers. In 2003, the St. John of God college for health sciences was established for the training and education of Malawian nurses, doctors and counsellors. The primary aim is to assist Malawians through education to become professionally qualified to look after their own people. The doctors being trained in psychiatry will serve a population base of 12 million.
The college is now too small and plans have been drawn up to construct a larger training college for €2.4 million. All assistance and advice from the committee would be appreciated to bring this project to fruition. While it may seem a large amount of money, the new centre will be up to European standards so it will last. Accommodation for students and staff also has to be constructed which adds to the capital expense.
We run the only school for children with disabilities in northern Malawi. We have two sittings, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, with 300 children attending the school.
Food supply in Malawi is unpredictable. Following the famine some years ago, we established a programme where €100 would be given to a family to buy fertiliser, some tools and seeds. Village chiefs were asked to allocate one acre of village land per family. In these communal areas agricultural instructors we employed showed the people how to grow maize and beans. That was a tremendously successful programme with the involvement of 600 families. We replicated this later in Sierra Leone for 700 families.
Good will exists among the people towards education and mentoring. They appreciate the helping hand but we need it too as we are growing.
The order provides €1 million towards its services in Malawi annually. Most of this is raised from small donations from Ireland. Any contribution or assistance from the committee would be very much appreciated.
Having visited Malawi seven times over the past 15 years, I am amazed at what is possible where there is professionalism, good leadership, good mentoring and accountability. I thank all our donors who have contributed to our Malawi project over the years. I also thank our staff who have shared their skills with Br. Aidan Cloghessy who leads our services there. I thank the committee for its interest in and commitment to Malawi. With education, partnership and empowerment, things can change.
Fr. Pádraig Ó Maille
Tá sé ar chumas Rialtas na hÉireann beart fiúntach a dhéanamh ar son Malawi anois má chuireann sé chuige i gceart. If the Government adopts a proper strategy in its aid programme in Malawi, it can make a real difference. As Fr. John Ryan points out in his letter which I believe the committee has received, Irish missionaries in Malawi collectively have hundreds of years of experience on the ground. They are aware of the problems, know the culture and the language and are ideally placed to be a significant part of any Irish Aid effort. There are two areas which offer significant opportunities, namely, food security and the promotion of the green agenda.
As regards food security, it is vital that proper choices are made. The promotion of large-scale projects and massive investment by aid agencies such as the World Bank and the IMF in the estate sector have proved useless. An e-mail I received last night from a friend who works on the ground with Concern tells of severe and widespread famine, in spite of the fact that the silos were full a year ago. Achieving food security for 90% of Malawians means promoting an outcome where every rood of ground maintains its man and woman. This means providing affordable seed and fertiliser. In his time in office President Muluzi and currently President Mutharika have proved that this is possible and worthwhile — when the weather does not intervene, as it has this year. However, they are and have been bedevilled by a lack of funds and the opposition of the IMF and the World Bank to such small-scale projects. Irish Aid, in co-operation with missionaries and NGO expertise on the ground, could and should make a major contribution by providing seed and fertiliser at affordable prices to the smallholder. Our programme should not fall victim to the false economies of the multinationals, the World Bank and the IMF.
As regards the green agenda, Irish Aid can make a significant and new contribution through the promotion of the provision of funding for alternative energy projects, for example, solar and wind power projects in the hundreds of schools that operate without any such resource. Malawi presents fantastic opportunities for irrigation projects, along 500 miles of lakeshore and river. Properly exploited, it could solve the food security problems once and for all. Malawi could become the bread basket of central and southern Africa. I hope Irish Aid will look on irrigation projects in Malawi as worth supporting with those on the ground who know what the situation is.
Smaointe fánacha, a dhaoine uaisle, fásfaidh féir fós, ach chaithimid cur chuige go ciallmhar, agus ní neart go chur le chéile. Go raibh maith agaibh.
I thank all the speakers for their contributions.
Some of the statistics on Malawi are stark — some 63% of the population live on a sum of under $2 a day. Life expectancy and the flight of medical expertise struck me, in particular, but there are a number of issues I wish to raise. I am getting a slightly conflicting message from the contributions as regards food security. The country may be self-sufficient, but there could be a shortage in September. Fr. Ó Máille then mentioned that there was famine in parts of the country or perhaps I misinterpreted him. Is there the potential for an immediate emergency, given the recent increase in food prices worldwide, and what would be the impact on Malawi?
Trócaire has had a presence in the country for more than 30 years; missionaries have been there since 1962, while St. John of God has had a presence for 15 years. If I am correct, Irish Aid and Concern have had a presence since 2002. This is very honourable and worthwhile and the organisations seem to be doing a very good job. However, with the exception of St. John of God, much of the work done has been replicated. How are efforts co-ordinated, or are they? Fr. Ó Máille seems to be calling on Irish Aid to take a role in implementing certain measures. Do the various bodies meet in Malawi? For example, would Ambassador MacGabhann meet Trócaire and Concern to ascertain whether there was a degree of co-ordination in programmes in order that much of the administrative work such as seeking information or carrying out an analysis unilaterally would not be replicated to ensure such resources could be pooled, if possible?
I would like to hear from Sr. Ursula Sharpe on how the flight of medical expertise could be addressed because it is certainly a big issue. She mentioned, in particular, that there were four pharmacies in the entire country, which is dramatic. My understanding from briefing notes is that there was a difficulty with the governance of aid prior to 2004. Did a lot of money go astray in the past? It is my understanding that the European Union could not sign off on some of its programmes since it was not satisfied on the actual level of expenditure. It seems from what Ambassador MacGabhann has outlined that there is a well defined method of distributing money to the various programmes.
I understand there is political paralysis in the country. What impact is this having and can the delegates see the situation improving?
It struck me when Deputy Timmins mentioned the figure of $2 a day that this referred to the entire gross domestic product. We had another figure of 20 cents for women. This is interesting because some big estates have been receiving support from the World Bank and others on a large scale.
We have had six excellent presentations. This is such an important topic that I want to draw out some general principles that might be of assistance to us in responding later. I wish Ambassador MacGabhann and all the representatives of the NGOs every success. Dar ndoigh, is féidir liom tosnú leis an méid a dúirt an tAthair Pádraig Ó Máille, mar aontaim go hiomlán leis faoin struchtúr ba chóir a bheith ina polasaí.
Interesting developments are taking place in Africa, generally. In a number of countries, between 2000 and 2005, agricultural production rose. It has risen in Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger, Chad, Ethiopia, Angola, Namibia and Botswana. It has increased by a lower percentage, somewhere between zero and 10%, in countries such as South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. In countries, many of which are afflicted by conflict, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and, unfortunately, Malawi, many of which are afflicted by conflicted, there has been no growth, effectively, or there has been a fall in production.
There is an interesting feature in respect of all the countries that have shown an increase above 10%. The agricultural strategy has concentrated on nearly all of them. Also, they have rejected the World Bank and IMF proposals, with the commercialisation of the agriculture model in place. In nearly every case it has been the productivity of smallholders that has mattered. This brings one to practical questions that arise on, for example, the importance of seed and fertiliser. We should also bear in mind the emphasis placed on natural fertiliser as opposed to imported fertiliser. The Irish Famine should remind us of the effect of the overdependence on artificial fertiliser which led to shock deaths and the impoverishment of rural Ireland. This raises other issues which are fundamental to Ambassador MacGabhann's report. As I said, I am strongly supportive of the embassy and the ambassador, but I have questions to ask. There is a need for a change in policy of the Irish Government, the European Union and the international community.
On page 2 of his presentation, the ambassador says:
Despite very high rates of poverty, the current President [Bingu Mutharika] has demonstrated a commitment to sound management of the economy, responding effectively to food shortages and improving the effectiveness of domestic and external financial resources. A recent mission from the International Monetary Fund has confirmed that the economy is being well managed and that it now enjoys annual growth rates of over 7%, declining inflation rates, and reduced levels of domestic borrowing.
There is the statement of the disaster that is the external institutions' relationship to Africa generally and Malawi in particular. The absurdity of inflation management as a measure will strike the Chairman, as he has just been referring to the figures of $2 a day and 20 cent a day. Perhaps I am wrong, but as the current president is a former economist with the World Bank, we cannot in any way doubt his literacy in regard to economics. However, what we are getting is a macroeconomic model imposed with disastrous insensitivity on village realities and smallholders' lives.
When we have more time and are responding with regard to several other countries, this is an item to which I would like to return and perhaps make a presentation on. The policy is a disaster. It is interesting that the last United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, report acknowledged this. That report on the status of agriculture globally announced that it recognised where increases in agricultural production had taken place and it acknowledged that they took place in areas where smallholders were being assisted, separate from the model.
A specific question arises which any representative of government will have to answer. With regard to the external relations in which a country like Malawi finds itself, is the Government free, in terms of the trade agreements imposed on Africa, to impose tariffs on imports or subsidise fertiliser? There is no point dancing around this issue. With regard to preliminary and later negotiations on the economic partnership agreements coming out of the European Union and the free trade agreements coming out of other countries, is there not a restriction on local capacity, both in terms of producing food security and producing surpluses?
We cannot have it every way. We cannot listen with compassion to what we have heard and then practice something else with regard to an international trade policy. It is very interesting to consider a practical example. The United States, Pakistan and others subsidise rice production, which arrives in Africa, while at the same time there are restrictions on African countries' production of their own rice. We must continually state that we cannot have it every way.
On a more sensitive subject, there are unique features in respect of Malawi, given the sheer size of the country and the availability of land. With regard to demographics, for example, there is very little family planning or birth control, for cultural reasons and so forth. Mr. Stephen Carr, an adviser to the World Bank — its longest serving adviser, if I remember correctly — suggests that the only hope is migration. Some of the presentations, however — I think it was the Concern presentation — correctly pointed out that options for migration have shrunk. What is left is a limited amount of land and a series of obstacles.
I do not say this to paint a picture, I am simply suggesting that the policy must take this into account. It is an issue on which I feel strongly. There will be good news on the Continent of Africa if smallholders are given what they need, not just in regard to the production of food but also in regard to its storage, refrigeration, canneries and added value. I laugh at the idea of people arriving in a country like Malawi and then suggesting when they leave that they have controlled inflation in a country with its social composition and the particular relationships between its society and economy.
With regard to the role of governments, I am very attracted to the initiatives of Concern and Trócaire to attempt to empower the base and encourage participation and capacity from the ground up. This is very different from what one might call an administration intervention at the top. The issue at the top has its own problems regarding the role of the opposition and the governing party and so forth. However, the main issue is in that kind of transfer. I would respond positively to the request that we be involved not only in elections — arriving for a few days to count the votes — but also in regard to the preparation of the register, the setting up of parties with different views, the involvement of a wide gender basis and so forth. I heard with great sadness of the continual drain, the need for medical personnel and the way in which the developed world continues to live off those who manage to get an education in basic health.
I do not want to respond only negatively to the ambassador's presentation. I see the International Potato Centre and the Centre for International Forestry Research as very good projects. My concern is that they be grafted on to the right policy.
My final point concerns an example I draw from other countries in Africa, which operates side by side with a mad macro model that has been rejected by their own independent analysis. One also has the destruction of microfinance. There are countries in Africa where smallholders received funding for the seeds and the tools for the planting seasons and the different rains. It was a requirement of their macroeconomic adjustment that these countries privatised the banking sector and in addition structured the product exclusively through private mechanisms. As those of us from an agricultural background can say, people sometimes sow their seed from the end of the bag, as people did in Africa in the small rains. However, the policies in one of these countries had the effect that people suddenly found the seed was dead, they found the banking system that gave them credit destroyed and they found themselves not just pushed away from agricultural production but pushed massively into food insecurity.
I do not apologise for taking so long, Chairman, but I have spent a lot of time on these issues. I felt very grateful to hear the six very fine presentations.
I thank the witnesses for coming before the committee to make their presentations. I wish to raise one general issue with all the witnesses. Given that Malawi is a new programme country, it is of interest to me how we determine the funding priorities. This is an oversight committee. The witnesses referred to impact and value for money. As they made their presentations, they indicated different priorities. I chair the Sub-Committee on Overseas Development, which met last week with Mr. Niall Mellon, of whom the witnesses have probably heard. He made the interesting comment that in his opinion there needed to be a greater debate with regard to where Irish aid funding was going and that we were funding anonymous UN programmes that did not have a track record of efficiency. Effectively, he was saying that he questioned the impact of Irish aid.
We have heard that €10 million has been earmarked for different programmes. Some of the figures listed are €2 million in support of a national census and €500,000 to the Malawi electoral commission. Mr. Collins from Trócaire said that this is something in which his organisation would be interested. He referred repeatedly to the importance of adequate funding for elections. Some €500,000 is allocated for programmes to encourage the participation of civil society in the electoral process; another €500,000 is earmarked for a public affairs committee, while more than €2 million is set aside for training teachers. Ms O'Neill De Giulio made reference to the abuse of children which I assume would come under that heading. Who determines the allocation priorities? Did the United Nations initiate the discussion on how Irish Aid funds these programmes? In other words, did it indicate through the country strategy what needed to be funded and how Irish Aid could help? Did Trócaire, Concern and the other organisations working in Malawi have an input in determining these priorities?
What degree of scrutiny can we expect? The ambassador's presentation was vague in terms of indicating the ongoing scrutiny that will be undertaken once these programmes have begun. The money has been earmarked but the consultants and auditors are not yet in place. There must be scrutiny to ensure the programmes are effective and that the public's money is having an impact in poverty reduction. That is the key issue.
I have a question for each of the organisations represented. If €10 million was allocated to each of them, would they spend it in the same manner in which it is proposed to be spent by Irish Aid? In other words, do the delegates believe the money earmarked by Irish Aid is being dispersed effectively? Should it instead be allocated for the training of additional pharmacists, psychologists, agricultural instructors and so on? These are the issues in which I am interested.
For the information of members and delegates, Deputy Shatter asked to be excused from the meeting as he is engaged in the Private Members' debate in the Dáil. I can see him on the television monitor attacking the Government.
I apologise for having to leave the meeting at intervals. I am also participating in the meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts. There is an overlap because of the change in time from 3 p.m. to noon.
Schedules had to be changed this week because of events in the Dáil, with the result that some meetings have been doubled up.
We have had excellent contributions from the delegates who clearly are in touch with the realities in Malawi. It is valuable for us to hear these first-hand accounts. Several questions were put to the delegates but they do not have to answer all of them. We will be in touch with them in due course if we require further information. Which of the delegates would like to respond first?
I have a brief question for them. Deputy Deasy has mentioned the importance of an auditing process to ensure the money we have allocated will have a positive impact in Malawi. This is an issue of particular concern to this committee and the Sub-Committee on Overseas Development. What came through strongly in Mr. Niall Mellon's presentation to the sub-committee last week was the voluntarist aspect. People want to be involved in a practical way and see the results of their efforts. That project and others like it have been successful in part because those involved know where their money is going. Apart from the financial aspect, it is a positive experience to have people of all ages involved directly in such endeavours. Will the delegates explain how open their respective organisations are allowing citizens to assist in their projects? There is a benefit in allowing people to see at first hand the difficulties of life in other countries and how our money is being used to improve other people's lives.
The Oireachtas research and library service has recently expanded and, as a result, Mr. Niall Ó Cléirigh will assist the committee in preparing our report. Delegates can speak to him after the meeting and he will undoubtedly be in contact with them in due course.
I am sorry I had to leave during some of the presentations. Sr. Ursula Sharpe spoke about the difficulty of retaining trained nurses. Is there anything that we can do to alleviate this problem? Perhaps the European Union and the United States could stipulate, for example, that such nurses must have ten years' service in their home country before being allowed to work in their jurisdictions. I understand why these women would want to leave to improve their own lifestyles. The First World countries are effectively causing the problem by recruiting them.
Mr. Collins spoke about the electoral process and referred to our potential participation. I presume the Chairman will consider that matter in detail.
The issue was raised during the Senator's absence.
Ms O'Neill De Giulio spoke about the food shortage. With prices increasing by 30% since December, it seems it will be a case of crisis management in Malawi. What can we in Ireland do to prevent that crisis? I am sure the organisations are doing all they can but is there anything further to be done to prevent the country hitting the headlines shortly?
My uncle worked for the United Nations in Malawi some 20 years ago. He seemed to have the lifestyle of an expatriate and to live it up a good deal. However, I am sure that is not the case for Mr. MacGabhann. I do not envy him his task. What is his opinion of the money we are allocating and the propensity to corruption? The briefing notes suggest the President of Malawi seemed to take on an active anti-corruption role for some time and now seems to be using it as a stick with which to beat the opposition. Does Mr. MacGabhann believe our money is going through the right channels? Should we be giving it to the NGOs or should it be directed down the Government routes?
With regard to the impending shortages, Irish Aid has established an emergency response unit. The ambassador might take the opportunity to speak to those involved while he is in the State about the preparations being made for what will happen in September.
Fr. Pádraig Ó Máille
There are shortages now.
I understand that but reference was made, just before Fr. Ó Máille came in, to September as being the crisis period this year. Since a special response unit has been established recently, the ambassador might like to check on that position before returning. I invite the ambassador to answer some of the questions.
H.E. Mr. Liam MacGabhann
I will begin and we will see how we get on. On the issue of food shortages, the issue of food security in Malawi is critical. This year in particular, because of the floods and food prices, serious issues exist. As I noted in my presentation, I have travelled to certain parts of the country and have seen at first hand the nature of such problems. We already have made contributions from the emergency and recovery side to support the work of the Red Cross in particular, as well as the United Nations world food programme, to try to deal at least in part with such problems. However, I also stated it is a more long-term issue. We also must consider preventative measures to prevent this from happening in future. It is both an immediate problem and a medium to long-term issue and both must be considered.
As for how priorities for funding are determined, we definitely do not allow the UN to do that. In my presentation I stated, in respect of the UN, that consistent with Irish Government policy, we support a One UN project in Malawi to try to ensure complementarity between the six or seven different UN agencies that work in Malawi. As in many other countries, the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, UNFPA, UNICEF and a range of organisations all work separately. The idea of a One UN policy is to try to ensure complementarity between those agencies as they work on the ground. This is the only way in which we support the UN process in Malawi directly.
Who determines the priorities?
H.E. Mr. Liam MacGabhann
We do. These priorities are determined in line with the Malawi growth and development strategy. We talk to the Government. I also noted that this is a new embassy and during the course of this year, we will be working on a five-year country-specific programme, which will begin in 2009. During the course of this year, we will be talking to the Government, the NGOs and various stakeholders, including the private sector, which has been mentioned a few times. We have had many discussions with big and small companies in Malawi to ascertain how we can support them to make a contribution to the development of Malawi. We do not exclude the private sector. We are talking to all the key players, including the Government, with a view to developing what we consider to be the priorities for the next five years. This decision will be made by Irish Aid and the Irish Government in consultation with the Malawian Government and other key stakeholders in Malawi.
In so doing, and coming to the issue of complementarity, we have regular meetings with the Irish NGOs based on the ground in Malawi. The idea behind this is both to exchange knowledge on all our activities and to ensure we all complement one another and are not duplicating one another's work. This is a critical element. We meet approximately every three to four months to ensure that complementarity exists and to exchange this information. This is a highly important element of our work and it was instigated on the day of my arrival last October.
I believe Deputy Michael D. Higgins asked a question on the potato centre and the agroforestry centre. He noted that while these are good projects, they must be grafted onto the right policy. A key issue for us in developing projects is to ensure they are not stand-alone projects but are part and parcel of a Government policy. Consequently, both projects are not simply, as the Deputy remarked, good in their own right but also are critical elements of the Government's agriculture development plan. They also form part of the Government's nutrition policy because a key issue for the future is to ensure the existence of a policy that develops on the nutrition side. From our perspective, the delivery of a proper diet to people that enables them to eat properly has a knock-on effect on education, health and every aspect of their lives. Working on this element is critical to us and is a key component of Government policy. Anything we do, whether it is in respect of the potato centre, agroforestry or governance, is all part and parcel of the Government's own policies.
As for the elections in 2009, we believe——
For clarity, I was really referring to how, in many cases, the microcredit structure, including seeds and implements and so forth, is related to and facilitates what the ambassador is talking about. I refer, for example, to CP Chowdry's project with the smallholders in southern Uganda involving 100,000 small farmers. What I meant to say was that if one has a different credit policy at the macro level, one is making it difficult.
H.E. Mr. Liam MacGabhann
On that point, the President of Malawi has just made a decision to establish a new development bank which will do exactly that. It will provide microcredit to small and medium-sized industry and small farmers. I must deal with the issue of the macro-economic climate. For the President, who is an economist, and for the Minister for Finance, who also is an economist, the development of an appropriate macro-economic framework was important to convince the IMF, the World Bank and donors as a body that they were serious about developing an appropriate framework within which to develop the country. That said, they have insisted in parallel on the necessity to operate the subsidy scheme. Despite the opposition noted by the Deputy from the World Bank, the IMF and some other donors, he has proceeded with this scheme highly successfully. My experience of talking to the World Bank, the IMF and other donors indicates they now are all quite happy with this subsidy towards fertiliser and seeds and most of them are supporting it financially.
Does the ambassador not consider it to be significant that the UNDP report is out and some of its subsidiary publications finally have admitted the model was wrong?
H.E. Mr. Liam MacGabhann
I have not seen that report. I have read other reports that suggest the model is wrong but in fact it is working quite successfully in Malawi. I agree with the Deputy that one must take into account the situation within Malawi. This is what the President and his Government have done. In general, he is being supported by donors on this issue. Most of the funding for the input subsidy scheme comes from donors.
The ambassador, without interruption please.
H.E. Mr. Liam MacGabhann
As for the elections next year, the political situation in Malawi is difficult at present because of its patrimonial-type system. There are three leaders, all of whom are more than 70 years of age, namely, the President, who is leader of the Democratic Progressive Party, Bakili Muluzi, the former President, and John Tembo, the leader of Banda's old party. Significant personality differences exist between the three leaders, which has caused a major problem in that there is no proper dialogue between them. Consequently, progress on the political front has been quite difficult and, in my view, the political stalemate will not be resolved until after the presidential election in May 2009.
However, following eight months of parliamentary inactivity since last September, the Parliament returned last week. Unfortunately, the opposition parties boycotted all the sittings during the first few days of the session, which led to discussions on quorums, the legality of the sittings and so on. I received a telephone call last night from a colleague in Malawi and the opposition parties now have returned to Parliament and the President has held a series of meetings with them in the last 24 hours. We hope the political situation is beginning to ease. They all recognise that, in the run-up to the elections, unless they get their act together the people will react to such negativity. They really must begin to talk to one another in the run-up to the election. The Parliament is back in session and we believe that key legislation and funding packages will be passed and that key appointments, such as Supreme Court justice and auditor general, will be appointed in the near future.
What of the scrutiny process and auditing?
H.E. Mr. Liam MacGabhann
As a new embassy, we are putting in place systems to ensure the auditing, accounting and administrative systems required under Irish Aid policies will be in place within the next month or two.
How does that work between the Government of Malawi and Irish Aid? The money is going into many government departments.
H.E. Mr. Liam MacGabhann
Our money is not going into government departments.
In respect of the electoral commission, how will the money be scrutinised?
H.E. Mr. Liam MacGabhann
We will make a contribution of €500,000 to the electoral commission. The money is going through the UNDP trust fund. The UNDP has a memorandum of understanding with the electoral commission. There are people in-house, including technical advisers, accountants, IT personnel and administrators, who ensure the money we are donating goes to where it is supposed to go. That is what will happen in the specific case. There will be UNDP personnel on the ground.
Perhaps we can let somebody else speak. If the ambassador feels at the end that we have left anything out, well and good. We do not want to spend too long on the matter, if we can avoid it.
Ms Angela O’Neill De Giulio
We know that there are food shortages in some pockets. To us, it is a longer term issue. The ambassador has alluded to the fact that there is a need to support certain areas. Later in the year, when the hunger gap becomes more extreme, we will see a higher level of malnutrition, at which stage we will have to upscale to a certain level of emergency response.
What we are worried about is that food production can be volatile and dependent on climate conditions, whether it is a time of drought or floods. I agree with the point made by Deputy Higgins about small-scale farmers, with whom there needs to be a re-engagement to ensure their development in the longer term because they are the way to successful food production. That is a position Concern is lobbying and trying to achieve in all the countries in which it works. On higher energy and food prices, it will probably be essential for these farmers to be provided with seed, tools and fertilisers in the first instance to allow them to continue producing. We see the possibility of providing for the cash transfer about which I spoke for certain periods. I am not saying they will need it all year round but there are periods of the year where they do not have any food and a cash transfer would allow them to purchase some food to feed their families.
The other issue was who decides Concern's priorities. We decide the priorities based on the outcome of considerable consultations and a needs assessment on the ground. This involves us doing the following: going out to see what the situation is on the ground; talking to communities, the government, other local organisations; discussing matters with our colleagues working in various fields; and developing strategies and priorities to ensure we do not duplicate each other's work.
I agree with the Irish Aid strategy outlined by the ambassador. There is a strong synergy between what he is proposing for the next year and what we are trying to focus on, specifically, a strengthening of civil society which we see as essential to move forward. The fact that civil society is so weak and at such a fledgling stage is a barrier. We would like to let them get on with much more and move to a secondary role but a considerable amount of work must be done to build capacity to allow them to come to the fore.
Agriculture and food security, about which I spoke in my presentation, are key issues for us and were mentioned as priorities by the ambassador. Reducing vulnerability is key to our work overseas, as we are trying to reach the poorest of the poor who are most vulnerable to fluctuations in prices or climate.
On sending Irish people overseas as volunteers, the committee is probably familiar with Concern in the sense that we have many expatriate staff working with us in our overseas programme in a professional capacity as technical experts in their field. By and large, national staff account for a substantial number of our staff. They understand the culture, speak the language and will guide on the most appropriate way of working within the community. We also work with many local partners, including small community groups, local organisations and local government. I do not wish to place huge emphasis on Irish people going overseas. About 70 or 80 nationalities work with Concern in the various programmes overseas.
I fully appreciate why Concern wants experts on the ground with the technical expertise to deal with certain issues. I am speaking more about the model used by other agencies to get Irish people involved on the ground. Concern does not have that level of voluntarism? I am not talking about staffing.
Ms Angela O’Neill De Giulio
No, we do not have that level any longer. It would have been a feature of our programmes in the past. Where we do try to engage the public in Ireland is through our advocacy efforts in the context of what we are doing overseas. We are very much involved in school debates, as the Deputy is aware, the winners of which will travel to either Malawi or Zambia in July or August with their teachers to see the actual work being done on the ground. There are many community initiatives in Ireland. We receive more than 50% of our funds directly from donations from the public, among whom we have huge support. People make donations on a regular basis. To maintain this, we need to ensure they are fully informed about what we are doing and that they believe they have a voice.
Is this an issue to which Concern will return? The reason I raise this point is that it came across strongly a couple of weeks ago just how important the involvement of people was. I understand the reason one cannot bring Joe Public over when there is political uncertainty and unrest in certain countries. While advertising the various things done by Concern and other organisations such as getting involved in school debates is great, they do not bring about a real connection with projects abroad. In general — this is an issue at which the Government and the committee must look — people here must know where their money is going and the positive effect it has. As I mentioned, the effect is not just monetary. In South Africa the benefits are exceptionally clear. The work involves having people on the ground who can get their hands dirty and see how others live and the positive effect Irish aid has. Obviously, this is not a matter on Concern's agenda.
Perhaps Sr. Ursula Sharpe might like to comment?
Sr. Ursula Sharpe
The sister organisation of the Irish Missionary Union, the Irish Missionary Resource Service, which received funds from Irish Aid, for which we are very grateful, represents 85 congregations and lay organisations. There are 200 Irish volunteers working overseas through the service. Three of the congregations are located in Malawi. Many of the congregations, including the Medical Missionaries of Mary, accept medical students every year. We have a partnership with the Dundalk Institute of Technology, as part of which nursing students work abroad for several weeks every year. Deputy O'Brien's point is valid because it is important that we continue to provide avenues for Irish people to work overseas. Thanks to the returning missionaries and early volunteers, every town and parish had someone with first-hand knowledge of Irish Aid. As the budget increases, this factor will become more important. A large part of the €20 million Irish Aid funding we receive is devoted to supporting personnel and missionaries overseas and I hope this situation will continue.
I support Sr. Ursula and my colleague. It is of concern that Trócaire and Concern, two of the largest NGOs, do not use the volunteerism method. Taking cultural issues into account, how much of their budgets is spent on paying people? There is a volunteer centre at the top of O'Connell Street, many people want to volunteer and there are links between universities and citizens, the taxpayers who pay the piper. That Trócaire and Concern do not utilise these resources and spend much of the taxpayers' money without involving them is of major concern. While the term "political tourism" was used in respect of Israel, I am not referring to Third World tourism. Rather, if we are spending much money in the Third World, those who wish to volunteer should be engaged.
That was done by Agency for Personal Service Overseas, APSO, for many years, but Irish Aid absorbed that function in the past year. In that respect, the Government established the centre on O'Connell Street relatively recently. A substantial reservoir could be tapped in a wider way.
Yes, but the volunteer centre does not recruit for any of the organisations in attendance.
Mr. Ronan Barry
Some 15 of the sister and member organisations of the Irish Missionary Union, IMU, use volunteers who go overseas. The 200 persons referred to by Sr. Ursula are members of Comhlámh, which keeps a database in the Irish Aid volunteering centre on O'Connell Street. If one wants to volunteer anywhere, one inputs what one wants to do, what one's skills are and how much time one has to spare. The database will provide options and one can apply to Comhlámh via the database's general application form. As many as 90 organisations are involved in Comhlámh, including approximately 20 faith-based volunteering groups.
When I asked an employee of the centre about whether one could volunteer, the answer was "No". There is a small disconnect, to put it mildly.
Let us not hang anyone out to dry. So far, enough people have been hung out.
We must rectify the disconnect.
Does the ambassador want to comment?
H.E. Mr. Liam MacGabhann
Sr. Ursula made the point I wished to make. Since the embassy's establishment, the number of inquiries from and requests for registration by young people who have come to Malawi has increased. The situation is not as bad as the Senator believes.
It is not bad, but it must be channelled. It is good that people approach the embassy, but they should be starting in Ireland.
The Dáil is 15 minutes away from a vote, but some guests have not contributed.
Mr. Seamus Collins
On volunteerism, Trócaire has always been a partnership-based organisation and works almost exclusively through local partner organisations. Who knows the cultures, languages and situations better than them? The building of capacity within those organisations is a significant contribution to development in the countries concerned. The only countries in which we diverged from this approach were Somalia in 1992 when there was effectively no Administration and Rwanda during the immediate aftermath of the 1994 genocide. All of our work elsewhere, even in response to the tsunami, was via local partners.
We have never sent volunteers abroad. Our internship programme, in which we take graduates of Irish universities who wish to pursue careers in development, has been ongoing for approximately seven years and has been successful in affording young professionals an opportunity to experience development and to decide whether it should be their career. We have successfully replicated this programme in respect of Kenyan professionals through our regional office in Nairobi. Our basic approach is the development of local capacity.
We have a responsibility to the public to report openly and precisely on how the significant funds it provides are used. We do this via our website and annual reports. We have undertaken other initiatives. Recently, we brought a group of 20 teachers who use our materials to teach the civil, social and political education curriculum on an exposure visit to Malawi.
Deputy Deasy referred to the definition of priorities. Trócaire has defined its priorities for the next ten years on the basis of a strategic framework developed through broad consultation with partner organisations and within our organisation. Through this long-term process, we have identified six sectors in which we will be involved and that are reflected in the programmes for the 25 priority countries in which we work. We are aware of the fact that we are allocating scarce resources, for which reason we have focused on 25 countries and six sectors.
In terms of the current and upcoming food security situation in Malawi, the key consideration is the vulnerability of poor communities. It is real, not tentative or nebulous. It has been tipped over into poverty by a single external event over which the people affected have no control. Like Concern, we include a significant element of disaster risk reduction in the programmes we support in an attempt to ensure that external shocks can be resisted. It is a long-term process and cannot occur overnight. As food security issues become more acute in Malawi, we will respond in the areas in which we operate through our local partners.
I must intervene because there will shortly be a vote, before which the committee must conduct a meeting in private session. Does Br. Ronan Lennon wish to speak?
Br. Ronan Lennon
When we started 15 years ago, we brought volunteers to Malawi and subsequently seconded people for training. Approximately five members of our 140 staff in Malawi are volunteers. The brain drain issue is critical. Due to fundraising and people's generosity, we have been able to pay people reasonably just wages. We operate in a country where most people go to bed hungry and there are 1 million orphans. A person may have some money in a jug on a dresser or whatever, but it will go if, as is the case in every family, someone becomes sick. Without that security, one becomes desperate in a couple of days.
While we work together, it is a juggling act. Malawi is known as the warm heart of Africa and everyone in Irish Aid will make it warmer through our ongoing co-operation.
Fr. Pádraig Ó Máille
I would be happy to have Deputy Higgins as my advocate in further discussions on this matter. In terms of overall policy, people have stated that they will have discussions with NGOs, civil society and local government, but no groups have mentioned that they will discuss matters with missionaries on the ground. As they have been present for 30 years or 40 years, they must be spoken with and not just over coffee at a social gathering. They must be involved in projects directly. It may be happening, but it needs to be mentioned. I was at a gathering recently celebrating 40 years of Concern but missionaries were only mentioned in the last breath, when reference was made to the fact that we are following the tradition of the ancient Irish missionaries of 10,000 years ago. That is fine but it must be remembered that the people who understand the culture and are embedded in the situation are the missionaries. The committee must talk to them.
We have visited several places and met people working on the ground. One thing that is very clear to us is that the work of the missionaries, no matter where we went, was outstanding. During the term of the last foreign affairs committee we were upset at the amount of money allocated to missionary activities because we felt it was inadequate. We proposed that the funding be increased, which has happened. However, we are also concerned with the figures presented today for the projects that are ongoing and the small amounts of money that are available for them. That is an issue we will take up in our report and in future discussions.
I support the Chairman's comments about Irish missionaries. In fairness to Concern and Trócaire, we are probably getting more bang for our buck in terms of taxpayers' money from the missionaries because of wages for instance. The more money we give the missionaries the more——
My view about the work of the missionaries is shared by all members of this committee.
Fr. Pádraig Ó Máille
Even more important than supporting them financially is involving them directly in the planning.
Yes, that is what we are doing here and we will take Fr. Ó Máille's advice in that regard.
H.E. Mr. Liam MacGabhann
We have discussions with the Kiltegan Fathers, the Medical Missionaries of Mary and St. John of God missionaries on the ground in Malawi. I make it absolutely clear that they are key players, as far as we are concerned, in the discussions on developing our future priorities.
I thank all of the witnesses for their enormously interesting and valuable contributions to this discussion today. I particularly thank Ambassador MacGabhann for giving of his time to meet us. We hope to meet him in Malawi in the not too distant future.
We have the other reports on CD and in written form. We will try to improve on them but if the witnesses have anything further to add, they should not hesitate to contact the committee.
The joint committee went into private session at 2.13 p.m. and adjourned at 2.20 p.m. until 3.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 13 May 2008.