Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Mozambique is among the world’s poorest countries, ranked 180^thof 189 countries in the 2019 United Nations Human Development Index. Approximately 62 per cent of the population lives below the income poverty line of $1.90 a day and average life expectancy is 60 years.

Ireland established a development cooperation programme in Mozambique in 1996, with a mandate to provide humanitarian and development assistance in the post-civil war period. In 2020, Mozambique remains a priority country for the Irish Aid programme, and is the second largest recipient of Ireland’s bilateral official development assistance (ODA).

The table below details Ireland’s ODA expenditure in Mozambique between 2015 and 2019. These figures comprise both bilateral expenditure managed by Ireland’s Embassy in Mozambique, and other expenditure managed by Ireland’s United Nations (UN) and non-governmental organisation (NGO) partners providing development and humanitarian assistance in Mozambique.

Ireland’s Official Development Assistance to Mozambique(2015-2019)

Year	Funding in € 000’s
2019	26,528
2018	20,584
2017	26,320
2016	25,472
2015	37,034

Ireland’s expenditure in Mozambique is guided by a five-year strategy devised in line with our foreign and development cooperation policies. Ireland’s current strategy in Mozambique, covers the period 2020-2024, and sets out Ireland’s intention to support:

- Progress towards a more peaceful, safe and prosperous country, inclusive of all citizens;

- Improved business and fiscal environments with inclusive economic growth and job creation, with a strong focus on women and adolescent girls;

- Improved social services, including a stronger education system with increased girls’ participation, improved access to quality health services and working with partners to contribute towards a strengthened social protection systems;

- Strengthened governance, institutions, state accountability and civil society participation in national development processes, which are responsive to citizen’s needs.

In 2020, Ireland’s Embassy in Mozambique has been supporting the Mozambican response to COVID-19, including through the provision of significant funding to the health sector, and is also supporting urgent humanitarian assistance for more than 250,000 civilians who have been forced to flee their homes due to a violent insurgency underway in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

Ireland releases information on ODA expenditure annually in the ‘Government of Ireland Official Development Assistance Annual Report’, previous editions of which can be accessed at the Irish Aid website, www.irishaid.ie.