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World Vision, actor Liam Cunningham to tell Foreign Affairs Committee of South Sudan’s plight

23 May 2018, 17:32

The World Vision Ireland charity and actor Liam Cunningham will detail the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan at Thursday’s meeting of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence.

The discussion begins at 10:15 a.m. in Committee Room 1, Leinster House.

World Vision Ireland Chief Executive Helen Keogh and her successor, Niall McLoughlin, are expected to brief the Committee on the agency’s aid work globally, followed by Communications and Advocacy Director Niamh Cooper, who will detail her recent visit to South Sudan.

Mr. Cunningham will provide his testimony by pre-recorded video because he is currently filming on Game of Thrones. Twice in the past year, the actor has travelled to South Sudan’s border with Uganda to witness and help document the wretched conditions facing refugees fleeing civil war, food shortages and hyperinflation.

The Republic of South Sudan is the world’s newest nation, having gained independence from Sudan in July 2011, but it has been ravaged by civil war since 2013. An estimated 4.3 million of its 12 million residents are internally displaced or have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.

“World Vision Ireland is part of an international alliance of agencies striving to address the overwhelming needs of the South Sudanese people,” said Committee Chairman Brendan Smith. “The Committee members will be keen to gain a more detailed understanding of the role that Irish Aid support and the commitment of Irish citizens on the ground are playing in relieving the suffering within South Sudan and along its borders.”

Committee proceedings can be viewed live here.

Committee proceedings also can be viewed live on Android and Apple devices using the Houses of the Oireachtas app.

Media enquiries

Shawn Pogatchnik
Houses of the Oireachtas
Communications Unit
Leinster House
Dublin 2
+353 1 618 4203
+353 86 701 3295
shawn.pogatchnik@oireachtas.ie
Twitter: @OireachtasNews

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