Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In the witnesses' submissions there does not appear to be reference to Covid-19, which dominated our proceedings in previous years. What does that mean for Africa? I am sure the consequences are still readily evident. What is the extent to which the immediate battle against Covid, in the context of vaccination and public health preventative measures, is in evidence? Related to that is the hugely important work to which witnesses referred and on which Ireland is engaged regarding SDGs. In previous engagements, we bemoaned the fact targets were not being met, particularly in education. That was often an immediate consequence of the pandemic. To what extent have policies changed across Africa to meet what a witness described as the deficit, which is political will, which, as well as being vital, is in many ways generic? What are some examples of how this might be met in the context of ensuring the SDGs are brought back on track?

The committee recently had the opportunity to visit Mozambique and see at first-hand many of the varied and hugely important projects Irish Aid and the Irish Government is directly involved in, particularly one in the area of diet and scaling up nutrition. Mr. O'Connell mentioned, as all the witnesses might have done, the hugely challenging and problematic crisis that is hunger. We witnessed in Mozambique the manner in which a recently designed and produced sweet potato can feed hundreds of thousands of children across a small area of land, making a real difference. Might similar projects be expanded and developed? I was struck by what he said about African peacekeeping in Africa. We noted the intervention of the Rwandan armed forces in Mozambique which, at our time of leaving, was somewhat precarious insofar as a withdrawal was very much on the cards. Are these military partnerships working? Do they need the assistance of the European Union in a way that can be sensitive from a policy perspective but nevertheless real to the people there?