Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 September 2023
130. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps that are ongoing to provide assistance by way of Irish bilateral or multilateral aid, with particular focus on starvation/famine, at the most prominent locations in Africa currently in need of appropriate assistance in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42087/23]
View answerThe world is facing a crisis of hunger and malnutrition. The 2023 Global Report on Food Crises issued by the World Food Programme reported that nearly 258 million people were experiencing crisis, emergency or famine-like levels of food insecurity, up from 193 million in 2021. Before the end of the year, levels of food insecurity are likely to rise further in 18 particularly hard-hit countries. Over half of these are in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Through our international development programme, Ireland has focused strongly on the alleviation of hunger and suffering in crises across the globe. In 2022 Ireland provided a total of €297 million in humanitarian assistance, an increase of 31% from 2021. Funding decisions are made on the basis of need. This translates into a strong focus on locations in Sub-Saharan Africa where hunger is most severe, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.
Ireland’s humanitarian assistance is provided by way of bilateral and multilateral aid. It is channeled to a range of trusted and experienced partners: UN agencies, the European Union, the Red Cross Family and Non-Governmental Organisations. Ireland provides €25 million each year to the UN World Food Programme, the leading provider of emergency food assistance.
Ireland also has a strong focus on preventing hunger and developing sustainable food systems. At the December 2021 Nutrition for Growth Summit, Ireland pledged to provide a total of €800 million over five years on nutrition and food security. At the UN last September, Ireland pledged an additional €50 million over three years to address the scandal of acute malnutrition among children. We will provide over €284 million in assistance for food, agriculture and nutrition in 2023.
We are addressing acute food insecurity while also investing in prevention and food systems, an approach which will be key, internationally, to reversing the trend of rising global hunger.
