Irish Aid

Christian Aid Ireland’s worldwide work receives support from Irish Aid – the Government of Ireland’s overseas development programme, funded by the Irish taxpayer.

Irish Aid has funded Christian Aid Ireland’s work across the world since 2004. From 2017-2022, Irish Aid funding enabled Christian Aid Ireland and its local partners to directly reach more than 1.5 million people in 13 countries through projects that helped alleviate poverty and tackle inequality, as well as reaching some of the most marginalised communities facing human rights violations and violence.  

Irish Aid currently funds Christian Aid Ireland’s work in ten core countries – with a focus on boosting development and tackling chronic crises. Irish Aid also provides additional emergency funding for lifesaving aid when disaster strikes countries with a Christian Aid presence.  

Christian Aid works through local organisations and is committed to providing solidarity and support to our partners who often work in extremely challenging and restrictive conditions.  

Christian Aid Ireland’s Irish Aid funded development programme tackles the root causes of poverty by working with local partners to promote human rights and support local community groups to hold to account those in power to improve the lives of the people they represent.    

The development programme is also committed to achieving gender equality and guaranteeing the social inclusion of minority groups facing discrimination. In addition, with conflict a major cause of poverty and the biggest driver of hunger crises, the programme has a deep focus on peacebuilding and conflict prevention.   

Finally, the development programme has an emphasis on climate action to support communities living on the frontline of the climate crises to be able to better adapt to the impact of rising global temperatures and worsening extreme weather patterns.    

Christian Aid’s Irish Aid funded development programme operates in Burundi, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory (IoPt), Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe.   

Irish Aid’s funding allows Christian Aid Ireland to respond through local partners to urgent and chronic humanitarian need in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Myanmar and South Sudan – all countries beset by regular outbreaks of violence that push people further into extreme poverty and deeper into a hunger crisis.    

As well as supporting families in extreme poverty, the chronic crises programme has a focus on preventing conflict and building peace, as well as tackling gender-based violence. A major aim of the programme is to support communities to better cope and recover more quickly from humanitarian crises caused by conflict and extreme weather events such as cyclones and flooding.   

Irish Aid support also allows Christian Aid Ireland to quickly respond through local partners to humanitarian emergencies. Working with local partners, we can provide urgent lifesaving aid to families on the brink of famine or forced to flee their homes due to violent conflict and natural disasters.   

In recent years, this has included responses to the hunger crises in Kenya and Afghanistan, people impacted by violence in Ethiopia as well as supporting communities devastated by the earthquake, which struck Turkey and Syria in February 2023.

Irish Aid support allows Christian Aid Ireland to educate our supporters and others on some of the root causes of global poverty and inequality. Our Global Citizenship Education programme has a particular focus on helping people understand and actively engage with the climate crisis and gender inequality. We help people to reflect and learn about these issues so that they can then influence others within their networks to speak out and act for change. We are members of the Irish Development Education Association (IDEA) and signatories to their Code of Good Practice for Development Education.