Trócaire’s CEO has said it is an “absolute scandal” that people are still starving in the 21st century.
The Irish charity, which helped nearly two million people last year, said it faced incredible challenges in the 24 countries it helped, including escalations of gender-based violence.
Trócaire received € 73.1 million in funds, donations and grants, slightly lower than the €73.3 million in the previous year.
CEO Caoimhe de Barra said several challenges were seen last year with climate change and Covid-19 having a major impact on the countries receiving the aid agency. worked in.
“Not only were health systems still overwhelmed, but the secondary effects of Covid-19 were devastating with lockdowns, travel restrictions and school closures costing millions of people their livelihoods.
“Children, especially girls, lost education and gender-based violence escalated,” she said.
“Twenty-three million people in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia are starving – more than four and a half times the population of Ireland. It is estimated that 1,800 people die of starvation every day.
† That everyone, anywhere, should starve to death in the 21st century is an absolute scandal I.
“The crisis continues to escalate, driven by climate change and conflict, and the situation is exacerbated by the disruption of the global economy and food systems as a result of the conflict in Ukraine.”
Ms de Barra said other challenges last year included the coup in Myanmar and the conflict in Ethiopia.
Both happened suddenly and resulted in a “devastating human impact” with ongoing insecurity in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“It was in this context that Trócaire further developed its capacity to be agile and resilient and found ways to ensure we were able to best meet the needs of people affected by the crisis,” said Ms de Barra.
“Despite these challenges, we are proud to have reached 1.8 million people in 24 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia in the past year.
“This would not have been possible without the support and solidarity of our donors, and especially the people of Ireland who have once again shown their generosity and shared a common goal for a just and equal world.”
The people Trócaire has helped include nearly 100,000 people fighting for human rights and access to justice in Central America, Zimbabwe and Palestine, and 313,000 people working on issues of climate change and environmental justice.
An additional 238,970 women and girls were helped through empowerment programs in 14 countries.