Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 394: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the amount of money allocated to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, International Partnership for Microbicides, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. [4467/10]

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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Making an effective contribution to overcoming AIDS and other communicable diseases affecting the world's poorest citizens is central to Ireland's overseas development assistance programme. In pursuing this strategy, Ireland supports a portfolio of global health partnerships that include the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund), the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM), the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (referred to as the GAVI Alliance). Irish support to global partnerships complements our work with the UN family and our backing for regional and country level efforts to overcome these diseases.

For the four years 2006 to 2009, the amount of money allocated to the four organisations in question was as follows: the Global Fund €71 million; IPM €12.1 million; IAVI €11 million; and GAVI €17.475 million.

These organisations have an impressive collective track record for delivering on targets and Ireland's partnership and engagement with them over this period has been an important part of our overall strategy to combat Aids and other communicable diseases.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 395: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the amount of money allocated to the UNFPA Reproductive Health Commodity Security Trust Fund in 2009; and if an allocation will be made for 2010. [4468/10]

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The achievement of universal access to reproductive health is one of the objectives of the Programme of Action agreed at the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994. In 2000, world leaders adopted the Millennium Development Goals, which include the commitment to reducing the maternal mortality ratio by three-quarters and achieving universal access to reproductive health, by 2015. The Government is committed to action in support of this objective, which is of vital importance for the welfare of women and children and for the fight against HIV and AIDS.

The Government is working in close cooperation with several partner agencies in the UN system to address maternal health issues in developing countries. There is a clear link between slow progress on the achievement of universal access to reproductive health and low levels of empowerment of women in developing countries. The range of issues involved form the core mandate of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), with which the Government's aid programme, Irish Aid, has a close working relationship.

In recognition of its important mandate, the Government has contributed significant levels of funding to the UNFPA in recent years. In total, over the four years 2005 – 2009, the Government provided a €23.5 million in support of the UNFPA. This included contributions to the Reproductive Health Commodity Security Trust Fund of €500,000 in 2006, €1 million in 2007 and €1 million in 2008. In 2009, funding of €3 million was provided to the UNFPA, but no additional contribution was made to the Trust Fund. I expect that funding allocations for contributions to UN Agencies in 2010 will be finalised shortly.