I propose to take Questions Nos. 151 and 153 together.
It is a matter of particular importance to the Government that the funding provided for our aid programme benefits the poorest and most vulnerable people of the countries in which we operate. The Government's development cooperation programme, which is implemented by Irish Aid, provides assistance to over ninety developing countries. The overarching objective of the programme is the reduction of global poverty and hunger. It has a particular focus on Africa, which has 34 of the world's least developed countries. Seven of the nine countries designated as Programme Countries for Irish Aid are in Africa: Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. We are committed to long term strategic assistance in partnership with the Governments and people of these countries.
Irish Aid funding is protected by rigorous monitoring, accounting and audit controls, which are in place in all countries where we provide development assistance. The objective is to ensure that funding is directed effectively to those areas most in need.
In the Programme Countries, strategies are developed in consultation with national Governments in support of their own poverty reduction strategies. These agreed strategies outline the programmes and projects which Irish Aid will support over a three to five year period. They contain monitoring frameworks with indicators and targets against which to measure improvements in basic services. The promotion of good governance is an essential element of all country strategies. Irish Aid works in cooperation with other international donors to strengthen public financial management systems and institutions of Government, such as the Auditor General function.
The monitoring of national programmes and projects is carried out in the first instance by national Auditors General, and, on an annual basis, by donors and civil society groups. In this process, particular attention is paid to progress on the numbers of people living below the poverty line and on improvements in access to basic health, education and water and sanitation.
In addition, Irish Aid has put in place rigorous accounting and audit controls. Programmes are regularly audited and evaluated by independent audit firms, by Irish Aid's own Evaluation and Audit Unit and by the independent Audit Committee of the Department of Foreign Affairs, in order to ensure that funds are used for the purposes intended and in respect of clear outcomes, and that they represent value for money.
The results from our aid programme and from our cooperation with partners can be clearly demonstrated, in Africa and elsewhere. The incidence of extreme poverty is falling in a number of Programme Countries. In recent years, economic growth in Africa has been the highest in a generation. More children are at school than ever before. The context remains challenging, especially in the face of the international economic crisis, but real progress is being made.