Press release
MoS Cannon announces 1 million in support of cyclone recovery efforts
From Department of Foreign Affairs
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Foreign Affairs
Published on
Last updated on
Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development Ciarán Cannon, T.D., today announced an additional €1 million for cyclone recovery efforts in Mozambique in 2019.
Minister Cannon said:
“The Government and people of Mozambique are still coping with the devastating impact of cyclones Idai and Kenneth earlier this year. Homes, schools and medical facilities need to be rebuilt. In my discussions today, I reaffirmed Ireland’s continued support for Mozambique, including an additional €1 million to assist their efforts to recover from these terrible cyclones.”
Minister Cannon made the announcement during his meeting today with the Mozambican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, José Pacheco.
Additional funding from Ireland will provide shelter, healthcare, and livelihoods support to communities still struggling to cope with the impacts of cyclones Idai and Kenneth, which devastated parts of Mozambique in early 2019 – Idai was the worst cyclone ever in the southern hemisphere. Ireland’s support will further assist the Mozambican government’s preparedness and risk reduction efforts in advance of the approaching cyclone season.
During their meeting, Minister Cannon and Minister Pacheco discussed progress under the Memorandum of Understanding between Ireland and Mozambique, which they signed in September, and which underpins the strong bilateral engagement between Ireland and Mozambique at political level and in terms of trade and investment and Ireland’s international development programme in Mozambique. This included an update on Ireland’s Strategy for Africa to 2025, published last week as part of the Global Ireland programme.
ENDS
1. Minister of State Cannon’s visit to Mozambique is ongoing from 5 to 9 November, 2019. Following a full schedule of political and Irish community engagements in Maputo on 6 November, Minister of State Cannon will travel north to the province of Inhambane on 7 and 8 November, where he will visit a number of Irish Aid-funded health, education and water and sanitation projects.
2. In March and April 2019, Cyclones Idai and Kenneth wreaked havoc in Mozambique, leaving more than 2 million people in urgent humanitarian need. In immediate response, Ireland allocated just over €3 million to NGO and UN partners, to assist them with meeting emergency shelter, healthcare, education and food needs.
3. Mozambique is one of the top recipients of Ireland’s bilateral official development assistance (ODA) annually, totalling €20.584 million in 2018.
4. Ireland’s ODA to Mozambique is managed by the Embassy of Ireland in Mozambique. It aims to increase access for the most vulnerable to health, education and social protection services as well as diversified and climate smart rural livelihoods, and to support effective and transparent government institutions engaging with a stronger civil society. It also provides support for the ongoing peace and reconciliation process in Mozambique.
5. Ireland’s support to cyclone recovery efforts in 2019 is channelled via NGO, UN, and government partners, including the Concern, Plan International, International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and the National Disaster Management Institute of Mozambique.
6. Global Ireland: Ireland’s Strategy for Africa to 2025 was launched on 29 November 2019. The text is available here: Global Ireland – Ireland’s Strategy for Africa to 2025