State vows 20% of overseas aid budget will help fight hunger

THE Government yesterday said that it would stand by its target of ensuring that 20% of its overseas development aid budget would go towards tackling hunger.

Minister of State for Overseas Development Peter Power made the pledge in light of the publication on Ireland’s progress in implementing recommendations of the Hunger Task Force, written by Ireland’s special envoy for hunger Kevin Farrell.

But Mr Power accepted the overall budget for overseas development aid is falling, heightening concerns over future cuts in the December Budget.

Mr Farrell’s report praised the Government’s leadership role internationally, particularly following the recent UN Millennium Development Goals Summit in New York, co-hosted by Ireland and the US.

Mr Farrell said spending on hunger had to be ringfenced or maintained at current levels, claiming this would “send a strong message”.

He also said specific areas, such as agricultural production involving women farmers, undernutrition and political leadership, needed to be targeted.

He also said there needed to be greater efforts made at tackling chronic under-nutrition and asked for the prioritising of agricultural research.

Dochas chairwoman Helen Keogh said unless the aid budget is protected, “all our efforts will be in vain”.

Almost one billion people – close to 15% of the planet’s population – suffer from malnourishment and approximately 10,000 children die every day as a result of hunger.

Director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute Shenggen Fan said hunger was a moral issue and recent crises had been caused by “panic behaviour by governments” such as when Russia banned exports thereby sparking a price hike in global wheat.

He said Ireland needed to use its leadership roles to ensure new players in food production, such as Brazil and India, could assist the traditional aid system.

Mr Power said he was pledging €4m for a programme in Malawi for micro-nutrient fortification that would introduce vitamin A into sugar supplies.

He said the Government was spending €671m a year at present on aid and while “the budget has been reduced we have scaled up our efforts in the hunger area”.

* www.irishaid.gov.ie