Emer Higgins
Question:452. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the way that the Irish embassy in Sierra Leone is delivering the Irish Aid programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13367/21]
View answerWednesday, 10 March 2021
Questions (452)
Written answers
The Government’s policy for international development, ‘A Better World’, launched in February 2019, commits to scaling Ireland’s investment across four policy priorities: gender equality; reducing humanitarian need; climate action and strengthening governance.
This policy was complemented, in November 2019, by the Government’s Strategy for Africa to 2025, which builds on Ireland’s long history of engagement in the continent and commits to working with African countries in their efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, with a particular focus on reaching those furthest behind first. In May 2020, an OECD review recognised the excellence of Irish Aid, Ireland’s international development programme, which helps Ireland play a leading role advocating for poverty reduction, channelling our assistance to where it is needed most.
Ireland's approach to engagement with Sierra Leone is informed by ‘A Better World’, with an overarching goal being that women and girls, living in poverty, contribute to and benefit from a more inclusive, resilient and equitable Sierra Leone.
The Embassy of Ireland in Freetown has adopted a number of different, but complementary, approaches to delivering the Irish Aid programme in Sierra Leone, including working with government, other Development Partners and engagement with Civil Society Organisations.
The Embassy of Ireland has a particular focus on improving outcomes for child health through its nutrition programming across a range of partnerships, which address child malnutrition. The Embassy has also partnered with organisations that have developed integrated nutrition sensitive agri-food programmes to respond to the changing global climatic conditions at community level.
Fundamental to the Embassy's work is the empowerment of women and girls to uphold their rights. Through work with its Irish Aid partnerships, it provides healthcare and supports for survivors of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV), while also supporting the government of Sierra Leone to realise its commitment to provide free, quality education for all children at primary and second level.
The Embassy also works with a variety of partners to support democracy, accountability and women’s political participation in Sierra Leone, aligning closely with two of Ireland's key policy priorities of gender equality and strengthened governance. It has helped build the capacity of a coalition of women leaders to help diffuse political tensions around elections and by-elections.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Embassy collaborated with the EU and three Irish NGOs on a €1.2 million ‘Team Europe’ COVID-19 response programme. An adaptive programming approach allowed an agile response which promptly met the needs of vulnerable communities in Sierra Leone as a result of the pandemic.