Irish Embassy’s aid will reach a total of £267m in assistance to development projects to Sierra Leone, Ambassador Claire Buckley has told journalists in a news briefing yesterday. The press briefing took place at the Irish Embassy in Freetown on the eve of St Patrick Day celebration.
The sum of £200m, Ambassador Buckley said had been spent since 2005 to date, and a budget of approximately £67 was in place to be rolled out in a four year period (2019-2023) . The funding she said was channelled through Irish Aid Programme in Sierra Leone in close collaboration with government, UN and NGO (Non-Governmental Organisations) partners.
A good chunk of the money, the Irish Ambassador went on, was also released directly from Irish Aid headquaters to such NGOs as Concern Worldwide, Trocaire, GOAL, Christian Aid Ireland, World Vision, Plan International Ireland and the Irish League of Credit Unions among others. Irish Aid which has an established presence in the country’s 16 districts is the Irish government’s official development assistance programme managed by Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs.
The Irish support has produced wide-ranging results for the people of Sierra Leone. The engagement of strategic stakeholders by the Irish Embassy has resulted to the enactment of the Breast Milk Substitute Act of 2021. The result owed it to the close partnership the embassy had with World Health Organisation, Focus 1000, the Directorate of Food and Nutrition and the SUN (Scale –Up Nutrition) in the Office of Vice President.
The support for the country’s radical inclusion policy for girls out-of-school, boosting government’s flagship project through the World Bank-led Multi-Donor Trust Fund, strengthening support to SGBV (Sexual and Gender-Based Violence) through support to Rainbo and one-stop centres among others are key interventions the Irish Embassy has made to Sierra Leone.
Ireland’s support to higher education is also visible.
The tertiary education support targets mid-career officials in government and selected NGOs and civil society organisations working toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Eight Sierra Leoneans are currently benefitting from the Irish support to higher education.
“The number of students will be increased to 10,” the Irish Ambassador promised.
After eight years, she further assures, the programme will have supported 2 Sierra Leoneans with a full masters scholarship for study in Ireland. The programme nurtures future leaders, develop in-country capacity and builds great links between Ireland. “We have seen graduates return to the country and bring that knowledge and those connections with them,” Ambassador Buckley told Sierra Leoneans.
It is through well-planned development strategies that the Irish Aid gives out unfolds their aid packages to Sierra Leone with the 2019-2023 strategy being the latest.
The strategy focuses on empowerment of Sierra Leonean women and girls and seeks to ensure that women and children have improved nutritional status, realise their potential and rights, more girls access and benefit from quality education.
Citizens, especially women, according to the strategy, were to be more empowered for inclusive and accountable democratic institutions and processes.
The Irish strategy for development aid to Sierra Leone is tailored towards supporting government achieves its SDGs, and reducing inequality remains at the core of the embassy’s work.
“Gender equality, nutrition, food security, education and the protection of human rights and good governance are also priority areas Ireland would support. The 2019-2023 Irish strategy is very much aligned with government’s Mid-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) which slated to run between 2019 and 2023.
The embassy works in close cooperation with government since the objectives contained in the strategy are in line with the MTNDP particularly around the delivery of free quality education.
The budget which is captured in a five-year strategy to be managed by Ireland’s Embassy in Freetown is a five-year programme that showcases Ireland’s ambition to deepen bilateral, political, economic and cultural cooperation with Sierra Leone.
The Irish ambassador also highlighted about contributions the Irish are doing in Sierra Leone.
“Irish youth work with 50 local organisations and teach in various schools,” the Irish Ambassador revealed.
The teaching services rendered go a long way in boosting government’s flagship project.
The strategy, she went on, was built on over a decade of Ireland’s experience in Sierra Leone.
It presents fresh opportunities for Ireland to move beyond traditional focus on development cooperation and build new partnerships in Sierra Leone and the region.
Ambassador Buckley made the disclosure on the eve of St Patrick Day which is a national holiday in honour of Irish patron saint who dates back to the 5th century.
St Patrick, the Irish Ambassador said, was brought to Ireland from the UK as a slave to work in agriculture.
He escaped from Ireland, and later returned to the country to teach Christianity.
The occasion is celebrated on March 17 every year.
St Patrick’s Day has become an opportunity to bring together communities across Ireland and friends of Ireland around the world.
In Ireland, large-scale parades take over the city streets and festivals to mark the occasion. The day is not only renowned in Ireland, but all over the world where Irish communities and diaspora have made their impact.
It is also an opportunity for the Irish to share their culture with the world and build friendships.
Diplomatic relations between Ireland and Sierra Leone were established in 2000 followed by the establishment of an office in Freetown in 2005. Nine years later, the Embassy of Ireland was established (in 2014), and links between the two countries grew much stronger.
Irish missionaries who first travelled to Sierra Leone over 150 years ago became active and well-known providers of quality education and healthcare in Sierra Leone. This established a strong basis for positive, bilateral relations between Ireland and Sierra Leone.
The focus remains on strengthening and building new partnerships working as a strong and constructive bilateral partner. Ireland’s commitment to humanitarian and democratic values remains strong.
The country stands by Ukraine and others who are facing oppression and autocracy.
Ireland is a member of Team Europe as one of a small number of member states with an embassy in Sierra Leone.