OVER €26M IN EMERGENCY HUMANITARIAN
AND RECOVERY AID FOR AFRICE ANNOUNCED
February 2006
Councillor Cormac Devlin has welcomed Minister of State, Conor Lenihan TD's announcement of over €26m for 12 coutries in some of Africa's worst regions.
€19 million to UN Consolidated Appeal AND €7.5 million to NGOs and Red Cross
Conor Lenihan T.D., Minister of State for Development Cooperation and Human Rights, today announced details of a humanitarian and recovery aid package of over €26 million for Africa, the largest single such package of assistance.
The package of funding covers support to both the United Nations Consolidated Appeals Process of humanitarian assistance, as well as assistance to Red Cross and NGO programmes in Africa for both humanitarian and recovery purposes.
Minister Lenihan said “At this early stage in the year, I am focussing on humanitarian crisis situations particularly in Africa. Ireland is committed not only to increasing its overall funding to humanitarian assistance but providing that funding as early as possible and as flexibly as possible. This greatly helps those out in the field actually delivering food, water, shelter and medical assistance to do their job and plan ahead.
“I am particularly pleased that Ireland is in a position at this early stage of the year to provide €19 million directly to the UN Consolidated Appeals (CAPs) for the most urgent humanitarian situations in Africa.
“The Consolidated Appeals Process is a vital tool in delivering a coordinated response to ongoing humanitarian emergencies. It also draws attention to so-called forgotten or neglected emergencies which have not benefited from high profile, international attention.”
The Minister continued “Ireland is becoming an increasingly important donor to the CAP appeals. I am proud that we are playing a leading role in providing early and generous funding to these vital appeals. This further underscores Ireland’s commitment to principles of Good Humanitarian Donorship meaning that we continue to focus our efforts equitably on all humanitarian crises, including those that are under-reported or ‘forgotten’.
“This Africa package also contains over €7.5 million in support to NGOs and the Red Cross, primarily for recovery programmes. Ireland believes that more needs to be done to help countries make the transition from humanitarian relief to recovery and eventually development. The preventive nature of such funding is all the more important as we witness the devastating impact of the food and drought crises currently affecting the Horn of Africa and the Southern Africa region. Ireland has already provided €5million this year to help the situation in the Horn of Africa.
“Our support focuses on this key transition from crisis. They help provide a vital platform for the affected countries to reach the basic targets set out in the Millennium Development Goals.
“This package of support also provides funding to Irish NGOs working in hugely challenging situations across Africa. I would once again wish to salute them for their efforts in what are demanding and often dangerous situations. I would like to reiterate the Government’s support for the crucial role they play in assisting vulnerable populations.”
He concluded “The humanitarian situation is kept under constant review by the Government and our Missions aboard, working closely with the United Nations and the NGO community. Further support will be approved as the year progresses.”
COUNTRY 
ORGANISATION AMOUNT (€)
ORGANISATION AMOUNT (€) 1. Burundi UNICEF 500,000
UNICEF 500,000 2. Central African Republic UNICEF 500,000
UNICEF 500,000 Central African Republic UNDP 250,000
UNDP 250,000 Central African Republic WFP 250,000
WFP 250,000 3. Chad UNHCR 500,000
UNHCR 500,000 Chad OCHA 250,000
OCHA 250,000 4. Côte d'Ivoire UNICEF 500,000
UNICEF 500,000 5. Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) WFP 2,000,000
WFP 2,000,000 DRC UNICEF 1,000,000
UNICEF 1,000,000 DRC UNHCR 1,000,000
UNHCR 1,000,000 6. Great Lakes Region WFP 1,500,000
WFP 1,500,000 Great Lakes Region OCHA 500,000
OCHA 500,000 Great Lakes Region UNHCR 500,000
UNHCR 500,000 7. Malawi Flash Appeal UNICEF 500,000
UNICEF 500,000 Malawi Flash Appeal WFP 500,000
WFP 500,000 8. Sudan OCHA 500,000
OCHA 500,000 Sudan WHO 500,000
WHO 500,000 Sudan WFP (Darfur) 500,000
WFP (Darfur) 500,000 Sudan WFP (South Sudan) 500,000
WFP (South Sudan) 500,000 Sudan Common Fund 2,000,000
Common Fund 2,000,000 9. Uganda WFP 1,000,000
WFP 1,000,000 Uganda UNICEF 500,000
UNICEF 500,000 10. West Africa UNHCR 500,000
UNHCR 500,000 West Africa WFP (Niger) 500,000
WFP (Niger) 500,000 11. Zimbabwe WFP 1,000,000
WFP 1,000,000 Zimbabwe UNICEF 500,000
UNICEF 500,000 Zimbabwe IOM 500,000
IOM 500,000 Zimbabwe FAO 250,000
FAO 250,000 TOTAL: 19,000,000
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