Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 6 April 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence

Famine in Africa and Yemen: Médecins sans Frontières, Oxfam and Concern

9:30 am

Mr. Henry Gray:

Absolutely. Borno State is a good example, as is South Sudan. We are unable to access some areas because of fighting and we are blocked by one or other of the belligerents in South Sudan, whether it is the Government army who does not want us to see what atrocities it is carrying out or the opposition group, and there are very few good guys in the places we work. My team is focused on conflict areas. Getting our people and materials in and out safely is a huge challenge. Getting data to shine a light on areas in the media is very important but without political engagement from the political masters of these countries, and without them actually wanting peace and stability, it is not going to happen and we will be constantly swimming against the tide. There has to be an engagement and better governance in these places for us to stand a chance. We are born optimists, as one has to be to do our job.

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