Devastating impact of aid cuts
The Irish government has just announced that the aid budget is to be cut by another €100 million.
€222 million cut
This latest cut in overseas aid is the fourth in just over 10 months. €95 million was cut in February 2009, €15 million in October 2008 and €45 million in July 2008. The cumulative figure represents total cuts in overseas aid of €222 million in less than a year.
Today’s cut, together with February’s cut, represents 24% of the 2009 overseas development aid budget as published by the government in October 2008.
Projects forced to close
To cut overseas aid on this scale is hugely disproportionate. We realise that the Irish government finds itself with tough choices to make at home. However, this latest cut means that certain overseas projects– many of which are quite literally a matter of life or death – will forced to close altogether or scaled down significantly.
This will have very serious humanitarian ramifications in the developing world. This comes at a time when the developed world needs to keep its aid promises to the poorest developing countries.
Suffering from hunger
Last year alone, an additional 40 million people in developing countries joined the ranks of the hungry and malnourished, due to rising food prices. This has brought the total number of people now suffering from hunger to 963 million. This is expected to reach one billion people by the end of 2009.
Broken promises
Ireland gained huge respect internationally when it announced at the UN in 2000 its commitment to reach 0.7% aid target by 2007. This works out as just 70 cent in every €100.
In 2005, then-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern recommitted Ireland, again at the UN, to that target by 2012. Today’s cut means there is now a very real risk of Ireland not reaching this target.
Moral support
It is part of our DNA as Irish people that we have a real sense of moral, practical and political support for people in the poorest and most vulnerable of circumstances. Humanitarian aid is one of the things that Ireland does well and for which we have received international plaudits.
This latest cut seriously undermines our international reputation for our sense of fairness, justice and solidarity.
For media enquiries, click here.
Comments
On Sunday morning in Prague in front of the statue of the Czech hero Tomas Masaryk, President Barak Obama gave a sensational speech where he outlined US policy on the future of nuclear weapons in the 21st century. Close to the end of his speech, referring to the Korean test rocket the previous day, he said, "Rules must be binding. Words must mean something." The Irish Government made a commitment to the developing world and has now broken its promise. Do words mean nothing for the Irish Government?
Last week Kenya's biggest selling daily newspaper carried front page headlines "Land of the Dying" with a heart wrenching photograph. You can now buy a cow in Kajadio for less than 3 euro! In this pastoralist region of Kenya, less than an hour from the capital, Nairobi, where cattle and sheep are the mainstay of the community, the animals are dying on their feet and those that are still surviving are now worthless. The crucial long rains are failing and there is nothing to feed the animals. We requested funding from Irish Aid to help avert some of this crisis but I am afraid we got a negative, apologetic response of budget cuts! What has happened to us as a nation that we can renage on very public promises and turn our backs on some of the world's most vulnerable people? Where is our humanity? Death from starvation is a toxic debt!
I regret about it and want to help you/ write me please!
Broken promise is the result of man's greed to share to the needy what God has given them.The culture of giving and the communion of goods will help solve our ailing community and country. We need to go back to the basic of developing this culture of giving because this is what God asks from us... to love our neighbors and share to them the providence God has given us. This way, we can love back God Who is the source of all goodness.
Its tragic about the budget cuts for international aid, there are so many charities out there struggling to deal with these problems.
Post new comment