Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 October 2023
119. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the amount of grants given by Irish Aid in each of the years 2019 to 2022 to organisations (details supplied); if the money was used for the promotion of abortion or the delivery of abortion services in Africa or other developing regions; how this spending has been monitored and evaluated by Irish Aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46131/23]
View answerThe Government’s international development policy, A Better World, commits to strengthening interventions in health to reach the furthest behind first, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 3, Good Health and Well-Being for All. Irish Aid's health programming includes a strong focus on improving health outcomes for pregnant women and new-born children in developing countries.
While we do not provide funding to the Clinton Foundation under our international development programme, Irish Aid works with, and provides funding to, the separate non-profit organisation, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI). Over the period 2019 to 2022, Irish Aid provided €7,575,000 for programmes operated by CHAI in cooperation with the Governments of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. This funding was used to improve the treatment of pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV, improve diagnosis of cervical and paediatric cancers, and pilot community health insurance. Our funding was not used for the provision of abortion-related services.
In this period, €1,109,232 was provided to the organisation Purposeful, to campaign against female genital mutilation and, to improve access to education for pregnant adolescents in Sierra Leone. Our funding was not used for the provision of abortion-related services.
In the same period, Irish Aid provided funding of €312,000 to the global health care provider, the International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF). The IPPF is one of the leading providers of contraception in low income countries. IPPF provides education to young people on their rights and choices, and promotes gender equality. IPPF also works to ensure that reproductive health care can be accessed where necessary, including urgent care to women and girls experiencing complications following unsafe abortions. IPPF does not promote abortion as a family planning method. Approximately 2% of the services provided by the IPPF globally relate to safe and legal abortion.
All Irish Aid grants are governed by agreements that set out the reporting and oversight requirements, including the annual financial and narrative reporting. Grant recipients may be requested to provide additional reporting and be available for site visits. Impact evaluations are used by Irish Aid to inform future funding decisions.
