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Irish Aid

Irish Aid is the Government of Ireland’s overseas development aid programme, as funded by the Irish taxpayer. Through the multi-annual grant, Ireland's Civil Society Partnership for A Better World 2023-2027, the Irish government supports programmes focused on Long-Term Development, Chronic Humanitarian Crises, Acute Humanitarian Crises and Global Citizenship Education.

GOAL and Irish Aid

Irish Aid supports our work in Colombia, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe. We help communities in conflict-affected and fragile states overcome crises and achieve greater resilience. We receive funding under Ireland’s Civil Society Partnership (ICSP) for A Better World funding scheme, which began in 2023 and will run until 2027.

Under this stream, there are four distinct, but complementary, funding streams: long-term development, chronic humanitarian crises, acute humanitarian crises, and Global Citizenship education.

GOAL recognises that building resilience helps to ensure the sustainability of our programmes by enhancing communities' ability to absorb, respond and recover from shocks. This is crucial to preserving well-earned development gains in the face of sudden-onset and protracted humanitarian crises. Thanks to the support of Irish Aid, GOAL has established the Programme Innovation Fund. We are now increasingly recognised as being a key player in disaster resilience measurement.

GOAL's partnership with Irish Aid also enhances our public engagement by focusing on development education in schools. Funding from Irish Aid allows us to cultivate a broader understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals, and how humanitarian aid and development supports vulnerable communities around the world. GOAL is committed to providing evidence that will inform, engage and inspire the Irish public to become active global citizens - building their commitment to global justice, equality and a fair world for all.

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Our Impact

In 2023, GOAL reached 1,067,000 people under the Irish Aid ICSP programme.

This includes:

  • 222,800 people reached by emergency response and resilience building interventions.
  • 588,300 people reached by resilient health programmes.
  • 211,800 people reached by food and nutrition security projects.

GOAL achieved these outcomes throughout the rollout of Strategy 2025 titled, From Crisis to Resilience. Using a systems approach, we developed humanitarian response programmes tailored to the varying contexts of acute, chronic, and prolonged crises.

We also empowered communities to prepare for crises and take anticipatory action, thereby reducing humanitarian need.  

 

Community Nutrition Volunteers screening a toddler for malnutrition, North Darfur, Sudan (2022)

Key Achievements

Global Citizenship
Africa
Latin America
Emergency Support in Other Countries

In 2023, GOAL reached 23,750 people through ICSP-funded Global Citizenship Education programme activities.

The GOAL NextGen Youth Programme welcomed 30 new members last year.

Stipends were introduced for all youth members, meaning that participants could attend sessions without any financial barriers.

This boost in participation also saw 30 young people stay engaged until the end of the programme and opt in to join the alumni network, which now comprises 120 members globally

Three network members from Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia were invited to Ireland to speak about global justice issues at the ‘Earth Rising Festival’ and Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival.

GOAL NextGen collaborated with seven artists from diverse backgrounds, genres, and locations to create a song, ‘Spark’, about how love, collaboration and working together is the key to achieving harmony in a divided world. The song reached #1 on the iTunes charts and remained there for four days.

GOAL partnered with the St. Patrick’s Festival in March 2023 to celebrate diversity, inclusion and oneness through art and culture. We hosted a variety of music, dance and spoken word performances and collaborated with The Smashing Times Theatre and Film Company to facilitate an interactive storytelling session for young children. GOAL NextGen reached an audience of 32,000 people. 

Irish Aid's ICSP programme funds our work in Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Niger, Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe.

In 2023, 2,150 households in Ethiopia were supported in becoming Open Defecation Free (ODF), thanks to generous support from Irish Aid. 

Under the ICSP programme, GOAL also supported 30,000 refugees and returnees in South Sudan with access to primary healthcare services. 

In Sierra Leone, the ICSP-supported Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) plant in Freetown treated 15.8 million litres of faecal waste. It now processes 21% of the city's liquid waste.

Meanwhile, 400 households from 22 villages in Niger received cash transfers, funded by the ICSP programme. This has enabled them to apply climate smart agricultural techniques, regenerating 142 hectares of degraded land.

And in Sudan, 225 households displaced by conflict received multi-purpose cash assistance, funded by the ICSP programme. 71% of households used a portion of the money to purchase food for their families, and 52% used a portion of the money to purchase clean water.

Irish Aid's ICSP programme funds our work in Honduras, Colombia, and Haiti.

In 2023, GOAL and Irish Aid supported the installation of a hydrometeorological monitoring system in Colombia. This enhanced the area's early warning systems and now benefits 83,000 people in Bucaramanga.

Meanwhile in Honduras, 280 local fishers received training in organisational regulations, with support from Irish Aid. 98% of the fishers have applied at least three sustainable resource management best practices.

In Haiti, following a community consultation process in Cité Canada, Irish Aid's ICSP programme funded the construction of a retaining wall to prevent loss of life and property during periods of heavy rain.

In Cité Lucien, a 12,000-gallon reservoir was also constructed to store rainwater for community use.

GOAL also replanted a mangrove forest in Haiti to promote the climate resilience of marine ecosystems and act as a significant carbon sink, with funding from Irish Aid. 

Irish Aid has funded GOAL's work in Chad and Lebanon through the Acute Crisis Stream of the ICSP programme.

Chad

In 2023, Eastern Chad experienced an unprecedented influx of refugees from Sudan. Irish Aid funding enabled GOAL to begin implementing an emergency project in Chad from October to December of 2023. This was done in partnership with two Chad-based aid agencies; ALIMA, and their local partner, Alerte Santé, from October until December.

Free healthcare was provided to 4,000 children (from 0 months to five years) and lifesaving nutritional care was provided to 700 severely acutely malnourished children aged six months to five years. 

Lebanon

From November 2023 to January 2024, GOAL worked in partnership with Lebanese NGO, Amel Association Limited. With funding from Irish Aid, GOAL and Amel provided healthcare services and hygiene kits to displaced individuals, with a focus on children and the elderly.

The partnership delivered health consultations for 4,543 people, access to prescription medication for 4,067 people, 223 referrals to Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCCs) for specialist services, 153 ultrasound referrals for pregnant women and individuals with cardiac conditions, and hygiene kits to 56 households in the Tyre region, where over 27,000 IDPs reside.

Supporting Our Work

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Humanitarian Innovation Fund

GOAL's approach to innovation is rooted in our commitment to finding new perspectives and processes that lead to transformative solutions for critical challenges.

To support and encourage promising innovations within GOAL programmes, the organisation launched the GOAL Programme Innovation Fund in early 2022. This fund is specifically designed to foster innovations that have the potential to be scaled up, with the ultimate aim of reducing and overcoming humanitarian crises.

Irish Aid has partnered with GOAL on the Humanitarian Innovation Fund since 2022 and is providing €150,000 to the 2024 fund. Of this amount, €50,000 has been allocated to ongoing innovations previously selected and €100,000 has been allocated to support new innovations.

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Global Partnership Centre

Our Global Partnership Centre (GPC) is a cornerstone initiative aimed at strengthening GOAL’s Partnership portfolio and steadfast dedication to the localisation agenda. Established in mid-2023 with generous support from Irish Aid, the centre marks a pivotal milestone in our journey.

Collaborative partnerships foster innovation and drive efficient solutions. By empowering permanent local actors to lead locally-driven humanitarian responses, we empower local communities to effectively enact lasting change.

The GPC has also established the Organisational Development Fund (ODF), with support from Irish Aid, with the recognition that identifying areas for support is only meaningful if accompanied by flexible funding.

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Global Citizenship

Our Global Citizenship Education workshops, resources and programmes explore how global justice issues interlink with children’s daily lives, challenge stereotypes, and encourage critical thinking.

Our Irish Aid-supported public engagement work also includes the GOAL NextGen Youth programme, which brings young people together from all over the world to deepen their understanding of Global Citizenship. 

The programme helps to support a generation of young people who are passionate about a fairer and more sustainable future. In 2023, the GOAL NextGen Youth Programme welcomed 30 new members.

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*The contents of this page are the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Irish Aid.