Overseas development agency Trócaire has announced it has secured an additional £2 million in funding for this year’s Lenten Appeal through the UK Aid Match initiative, boosting the £2 million plus raised, thanks to the generosity of people of the North of Ireland.
The appeal, which ran from March to May, focused on the daily challenges faced by people in Zimbabwe to provide food, water and education for their families due to drought caused by climate change and the effects of Covid-19.
Over £2 million was raised in the North through the Appeal and £2 million is being matched by the UK government, the maximum amount available, resulting in a total of more than £4 million for Trócaire ’s work. This has been warmly welcomed by Siobhan Hanley, Trócaire’s Head of Region in Northern Ireland, who thanked the public for making it possible.
She said: “This extra funding will be used to create long term, positive change in the lives of people in Zimbabwe and to enable them to be self-sufficient and not to have to rely on aid. People living in poverty, especially women, in drought-prone southern Zimbabwe have been disproportionately affected by the long-term impacts of Covid-19. These matched funds will enable thousands of people within the country, particularly women, to continue feeding their families despite these impacts and through climate shocks and other challenges.”
22 million people are facing starvation in the Horn and East Africa including in Somalia where Trócaire provides critical health support to over 200,000 people each year in Gedo region. Photo: Miriam Donohoe
The positive funding news came as Trócaire issued a dire warning about the current food crisis in the Horn and East Africa which has left millions of people without essentials.
Ms Hanley said: “22 million people in the region, more than 11 times the population of Northern Ireland, are currently facing starvation due to ongoing drought, with this figure projected to rise substantially by the end of the year. Millions are suffering massive displacement due to four failed consecutive rainy seasons which have resulted in a million and a half people already forced to leave their homes.”
She said one of the countries in the region where Trócaire is working is Somalia, where the agency provides critical health support to over 200,000 people each year in Gedo region in the south.
“The situation in Somalia is a stark reminder of what happens if supports are not in place in times of crisis.
“This match funding will make a difference to the lives of thousands of people and would not have been possible without the terrific support and generosity of people in Northern Ireland who, despite the challenges of Covid and the cost of living crisis, have shown yet again that they stand in solidarity with people in the developing world who face a daily struggle to survive.
“I cannot thank those who donated to our Lenten Appeal enough,” Siobhan Hanley added.
