Minister Power Announces Assistance for the Fight Against Hunger and Disease during Visit to Tanzania
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Department of Foreign Affairs Press Release
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Minister Power Announces Assistance for the Fight Against Hunger and Disease during Visit to Tanzania
The Minister of State for Overseas Development, Peter Power, T.D., has announced €1.75 million in funding to combat hunger, reduce maternal and newborn mortality, tackle HIV and resettle refugees during an official visit to Tanzania this week.
Minister Power announced the funding during a five-day visit to Tanzania, one of the nine priority countries for the Government’s aid programme. During the visit, from 6 to 10 July, he has visited schools, hospitals and clinics funded by Ireland. He has also been holding meetings with the Tanzanian Government, including Prime Minister Mizengo Peter Pinda, and Irish Non-Governmental Organisations, including Concern and Oxfam, which are working in Tanzania and are supported by Irish Aid, the Government’s aid programme.
The funding package announced during the visit will be distributed through the United Nations:
€1 million through the UN Joint programme in Tanzania, which works to reduce maternal and newborn mortality, combat HIV and AIDS and strengthen the country’s response to disasters.
€500,000 through the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to improve maternal and child nutrition, a key recommendation of the Report of the Government’s Hunger Task Force.
€250,000 for the joint programme by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Tanzanian Government to resettle Burundian refugees in Tanzania and to repatriate those who wish to return to Burundi. Up to 165,000 refugees from the conflict in Burundi have applied to remain in Tanzania and will be offered citizenship, while 25,000 refugees have opted to return to their homeland.
Speaking in Tanzania, Minister Power stressed the importance of ensuring Ireland’s aid programme has the maximum impact on the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable people and communities.
He stated:
"During my visit, I have seen at first-hand how Ireland’s support is having a real impact on the lives of the poorest Tanzanians. Ireland’s assistance to Tanzania means fewer children are dying; thousands more small farmers are able to provide for their families and millions of Tanzanians now have access to basic health and education.
These tangible improvements have been achieved thanks to the support of the Irish people and our targeted and effective partnerships with the Tanzanian Government and key UN and NGO partners. This latest funding will help build on these achievements to ensure that mothers and infants are properly nourished; fewer people contract HIV and AIDS and refugees who have been displaced for so many years will be able to rebuild their families’ lives. We know that at least 200,000 Tanzanian children are acutely malnourished. These are the people we want to reach through the funding announced today."
Note for the editor
2009 marks the 30th anniversary of Tanzania’s becoming a partner country for Ireland’s official programme of overseas development, Irish Aid. This year, the Irish Government will fund vital health, agriculture and education programmes in Tanzania.
In addition to funding for the United Nations, Irish Aid funds Irish NGOs working in Tanzania, including Concern and Oxfam.
Tanzania has been the main host country for hundreds of thousands of Burundian refugees who fled ethnic tensions and armed conflict in their home country in the early 1970s and again in the 1990s.
In a repatriation launched by the Government of Tanzania in 2008, some 63,000 Burundian refugees were repatriated. Last year, 165,000 refugees applied for citizenship. The Tanzanian Government has indicated that it will give each newly-naturalised family a plot of land and other assistance. In 2009, UNHCR hopes to repatriate some 25,000 Burundians who have opted to go home.
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10 July 2009
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