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Concern Worldwide welcomes Budget 2021 funding for Overseas Development Assistance

Press release13 October 2020

Ireland’s largest humanitarian organisation Concern Worldwide welcomes the Government’s decision to increase expenditure on overseas development aid by €30 million in Budget 2021.

“Ireland’s commitment to some of the world’s most vulnerable people is vital as the current COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause widespread suffering,” Concern Worldwide Chief Executive Dominic MacSorley said. 

“At the start of this year – before the pandemic – a record 168 million people required humanitarian assistance.  Now 250 million people are in need, due to the effects of COVID-19. The news of the increase is really welcome and will support timely responses to the escalating humanitarian needs’.

Concern is hopeful that today’s Budget allocation is a step towards the Government honouring its commitment to Ireland achieving the UN target of contributing 0.7% of Gross National Income to overseas development assistance by 2030.

Concern Worldwide Chief Executive Dominic MacSorley
We know there are challenging times ahead here at home but we also know that Ireland’s Official Development Assistance works, and is needed now more than ever to protect millions of the world’s poorest from slipping deeper into extreme hunger and poverty as a result of the triple threat of climate, conflict and now the COVID pandemic.
Dominic MacSorley - Chief Executive, Concern Worldwide

The scale of the global challenge was highlighted yesterday (Monday) with the publication of the Global Hunger Index 2020 which identified ‘alarming’ levels of hunger in 11 countries and ‘serious’ hunger levels in a further 40 countries. 

The Index is published by Concern and its German NGO partner Welthungerhilfe.

For media queries contact Eilis Staunton, Media Relations Officer, Concern Worldwide, at Eilis.staunton@concern.net or 087 4268913.

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