Trócaire annual Lenten campaign begins today

Irish people raised €7.6m for Trócaire during Lent last year.

The 44th annual Lenten campaign from the Catholic Church in Ireland's overseas development agency begins today, which will see Trócaire boxes distributed to schools, clubs and homes across the country.

This year's campaign will focus on its emergency work, particularly responding to crises such as natural disasters.

"Whether that's weather-related crisis or whether it's a crisis caused by drought leading to famine, and often those crises are compounded by conflict and war," said Eamonn Meehan, executive director of Trócaire.

"So we're talking about Honduras in Central in America, the country which is most vulnerable to climate change.

"We're also talking about food crisis in many parts of Africa - South Sudan, Somalia. The United Nations has declared famine in South Sudan."