|  | | Press Section | | | | February 2010 | | | Vita secures €3m EU funds to fight hunger in Africa | | | | | Irish development agency, Vita, has secured €3 million from a special EU rapid response fund (The European Commission Rapid Response to Food Prices in Developing Countries) which they will use to tackle the causes of hunger in Africa.
Three Vita projects, supported by the European Commission fund, in the East African countries of Eritrea and Ethiopia, are starting this week to expand local food production there.
John Weakliam, chief executive officer of Vita said:
“The projects, which will run for 20 months, will focus on increasing food production and reduce food prices. This will impact directly on 20,500 households and more than 500,000 (five hundred thousand) local inhabitants in the region.”
The new projects will be implemented by Vita staff, supported by Eritrean and Ethiopian government staff together with Irish agricultural experts. Dr. Seamus Crosse, former director of administration and research in Teagasc, is adviser to the project. Dr. Crosse and Larry O’Loughlin, area manager, Teagasc, who is a member of the board of Vita, visited Africa to assess the projects.
Vita, previously known as Refugee Trust International which was established 20 years ago, is an Irish development agency working to tackle hunger and climate change in Africa.
Malnutrition is a major problem in Eritrea and Ethiopia with malnutrition rates in Eritrea as high as 68% of the population.
John Weakliam, chief executive of Vita, praised the support from the European Commission which complements Vita’s existing support from Irish Aid and the Irish public.
He said: “Hunger is one of the most challenging issues of the day and with this new support we can begin to deal with the problem. The new fund is a tremendous boost to Vita’s efforts to make people in Africa more self-reliant. Irish Aid is a world leader and is at the cutting edge of best development practice.”
“We are working in partnership with farmers in Eritrea and Ethiopia in introducing new technology and modern food production through improved seeds and fertilisers.”
"After years of humiliating dependency on Western food aid, many African governments and African people now have more ownership of their own development. If we care, we can help them build their own permanent solutions to drought, hunger and climate change. All it requires is a little of the good old-fashioned kindness and hope, fashioned from the experiences of Famine and strife, that the Irish have for our fellow man."
Ethiopia and Eritrea are two of the world’s poorest countries and have suffered recent wars, soaring food and fuel prices and extremes in climate change.
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For further information, please contact: John Weakliam (CEO), or Tom Carroll (Programme Officer), Vita, 73a Blessington Street, Dublin 7, Tel: (01) 8820108. Mobile: 087 6225950
Vita
Vita is an Irish international development agency that is fighting hunger and climate change in Africa. The mission of the agency is to bring an end to extreme poverty and reduce the vulnerability of people in Africa by helping them to build sustainable long-term livelihoods for themselves.
Vita, which means ‘Way of Life’, was originally called Refugee Trust International (RTI) when it was founded in 1989 by the late Fr. Kevin Doheny, a Holy Ghost priest who was born in Ballinakill, County Laois. Fr. Doheny, who was known internationally as an outspoken and radical priest, respected by governments throughout the world, worked for 46 years in various countries in Africa including Nigeria (during the war in Biafra) and Ethiopia.
Vita is supported by the Irish Government through Irish Aid - the international aid section of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the European Union through EuropeAid, and by voluntary work and donations of the people of Ireland. The annual budget of Vita is Euro 3 million (three million Euro).
In 2010, Vita has seven staff in Ireland supported by volunteers around the country, and 40 staff working on agricultural and community-led development projects in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Kenya, helping more than 100, 000 people become self sufficient and less dependent on aid from the West.
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Members of the board of Vita are: Fr. Norman Fitzgerald,CSSp, President; Brendan Casey, (former head of strategy , AIB), Chairman; Larry O’Loughlin, (area manager, Teagasc); Robert(Bobby) Gahan, (former deputy director general of RTE); Tom Barry (former head of AIB Corporate Finance); Brian Buggy, (partner, Matheson Ormsby Prentice); Patricia Hallahan, (director, Dementia Ireland); Sean Hurley,(former editor, the Kilkenny People) and Fr. Brian Starken (Irish Provincial, The Spiritans).
John Weakliam is chief executive and John Wallace is company secretary.
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Mr. Larry O’ Loughlin, Area Manager, Teagasc and Vita board member
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Dr. Seamus Crosse, Adviser to Vita Projects in Africa
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