Ireland can and must be central to achieving 'A Better World'
Ireland’s vision of a better world, as laid out in the Government’s new policy for international development, is an ambitious one. It sees a world where women can claim and exercise their rights, enjoy economic opportunities and live free from the horror of violence and abuse, writes
A world where organisations like Oxfam don’t exist because no-one is hungry or enduring the injustice of poverty or living far from home because of conflict, persecution or disaster.
A world where we live up to our responsibilities to protect our planet and where communities aren’t forced to rebuild again and again after unpredictable climates have destroyed their livelihoods.
We welcome this strong statement of intent because we know that this is the kind of ambition required to create a better, fairer, more peaceful and sustainable world.
Remarkable progress has been made in recent decades in reducing extreme poverty, getting more children into school and ensuring access to essential services.
However significant challenges remain. The pace of poverty reduction is slowing, while the geography of extreme poverty is shifting. Some projections indicate that over 80 percent of the world’s poorest communities will live in fragile and conflict-affected states by 2030 – places which are extremely challenging to access.
Inequality is on the rise. A focus on average rates of progress has masked an alarming trend of large and often growing inequalities, which hit the world’s poorest communities hardest, affecting women and girls the most. Evidence suggests that the poorest 20% in the world receive just 1%t of the world’s growth.
And inequality must be addressed – there is a consensus, backed by extensive evidence, that more equal societies have more robust and sustainable growth, and achieve greater poverty reduction.
Today, across East Africa, 15 million people face devastating hunger, while in Yemen the ‘world’s worst humanitarian crisis’ is unfolding before our eyes.
Climate change is already threatening the lives of millions – demanding urgent action - while the biggest number of people (68.8million) since World War II have been forced to flee their homes due to poverty, conflict, persecution and disaster.
Civil society across the world is under threat, with over 100 governments around the world introducing laws which restrict the operations of civil society organisations. Detention, harassment and intimidation are some of the very real threats facing social justice activists around the world.
The challenges that we face are complex and intersecting, and they demand a step change in international action. Ireland’s new international development policy is a bold and ambitious agenda which seeks to meet this challenge.
It includes a reaffirmed commitment from the Government to reach the internationally agreed target of spending 0.7% of gross national income on official development assistance by 2030, which will mean an average increase of 100 – 150 million euro each year to the aid budget.
It is not just the scale of Ireland’s aid programme that matters – important though it is for addressing global challenges and upholding Ireland’s international reputation – but rather the quality.
Ireland has been recognised internationally as a donor that ‘excels’ in delivering effective aid and A Better World builds on that legacy.
The depth of Ireland’s engagement in Irish Aid partner countries has led to collaborative and constructive relationships which are based on long-term commitment, an openness to programme evolution and an ability to have critical conversations with partner governments.
A Better World sets out a series of commitments and initiatives across four primary areas – gender equality, reducing humanitarian need, climate action and strengthening governance.
The policy seeks to implement the principle which is most fundamental to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and to the work we are trying to achieve – the pledge to leave no one behind and to put the furthest behind first.
If actioned, this pledge has the potential to spur unprecedented change for the world’s most excluded communities.
Last year, I saw first-hand the transforming impact of this value in action through our Irish Aid-funded work in South Sudan and Malawi.
In South Sudan, we worked with local partners to develop an innovative canoe project that has enabled us to reach thousands of people seeking refuge in isolated and almost impossible-to-reach islands in Unity State, driven from their homes because of violence.
The most vulnerable among them, including the elderly and ill, would not be able to access essentials like food and medical help without the canoe-drivers and canoes transporting them to and from life-saving aid.
In Malawi, we’re working with partners to ensure marginalised communities get the healthcare they deserve. Malawi has some of the best health policies in the world but limited and badly-managed public funds mean they aren’t put into practice.
This negatively impacts everyone but for people with disabilities this makes life even more challenging.
People like Peter Simoni, a wheelchair user and member of a local disability committee. In the local healthcare centre he visits, there is no wheelchair ramp and so he is forced to crawl on his hands and knees to get into the building.
With the support of Irish Aid and through our work with local partners, Peter has been able to reclaim his rights and demand quality healthcare for him and his community, including ensuring the ambulance designated to his local healthcare centre was made available for him and others when it previously wasn’t.
Successful aid helps countries mobilise and sustain financing for their own development priorities; assists citizens to realise their rights and demand the services and investments they need; supports communities to escape poverty sustainably; and provides humanitarian assistance in times of crisis.
Ireland can continue to support countries’ capacity to lead their own development through building strong government institutions and public services and support domestic resource mobilisation through taxation, so that aid leverages more, and more sustainable finance, that can support public budgets to tackle inequality.
We were encouraged to see Ireland’s commitment to supporting and protecting civil society space and call on the Government to be brave in the defence of human rights.
As the Government seeks to expand our global footprint through Global Ireland 2025 and implement the vision set out in A Better World, Ireland must continue to place the defence of civic space high on the international human rights agenda.
Since the Irish Aid programme began in 1974, it has been an initiative that we all can be proud of.
The announcement of the Government’s new policy means that we can be even more proud of the contribution that Ireland will make to parts of the world that do not enjoy the stability and safety that we do at home.
We look forward to continuing to work together to put the ambition of A Better World into meaningful action that saves and transforms the lives of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable.
