Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 21 November 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence

Budget 2024, Official Development Assistance, COP28 and Ongoing Humanitarian Situations: Dóchas

Ms Rosamond Bennett:

I was on the border of Sudan and South Sudan just a few weeks after the conflict erupted. South Sudan is the world's youngest country and extremely poor. People were flooding into South Sudan with, literally, the clothes on their backs. South Sudan is not in a position to be able to do much to support those people. When I came back, I tried to generate some interest in this topic. I tried to speak to the media and tried to see if we could try to drum up some kind of response, but it is incredibly difficult. There is just little or no interest.

Most of the countries we work in now are conflict-affected, and conflict-affected crises are the most difficult to raise money for, with the exception of Ukraine. That situation was very different, and perhaps this is because it seemed to be closer to home. When we start to look at crises involving conflict beyond that, and we are talking about Yemen, Syria, Sudan, South Sudan and Gaza, it is very difficult to get a response. This is why public appeals and Government funding are crucial to allow us to respond to those types of crises. If these situations are not covered in the media, then it is even very hard to make the public aware of what is happening, never mind being able to respond financially.

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