Our Partners

In delivering assistance, we work closely with UN agencies, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs to save lives and deliver essential supplies and assistance during emergencies.

Support for UN agencies

Working with UN agencies enables us to support effective and coordinated responses to emergencies and to meet the needs of crisis and conflict affected populations.

We support better international co-ordination during a crisis though our funding to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) . OCHA also manages funds at country level, usually known as Pooled Funds. Ireland provided €38 million in 2018 to thirteen of these funds, making us the fifth largest donor. These funds are available to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including local NGOs, and are a very important way of ensuring that urgent assistance can reach all those in need.

Ireland is the eighth largest donor to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which is managed by the United Nations. Ireland contributed €10 million to the CERF for its activities in 2019. The aim of the CERF is to provide timely and reliable assistance where it is needed, including underfunded emergencies.

We work closely with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR , to help meet the needs of the over 65 million people that have been displaced as a result of conflict, violence or human rights abuses. As part of our engagement with the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), we provide funding to, the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA).

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the world's largest humanitarian network, provides protection and assistance to people affected by disasters and conflicts. Our strong partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), one of the main components of the Movement, allows us to promote our shared humanitarian values and support the activities of over 190 local Red Cross/Red Crescent branches throughout the world in assisting those in need.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), is also a key humanitarian partner for Ireland. The ICRC provides humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of war and armed violence and is often best placed to provide assistance in conflict situations and where other organisations cannot operate. The Committee also plays an important role as the custodian of the Geneva Conventions which, marked their 70th anniversary in 2019.

In 2018, we provided over €15 million to the Movement as a whole.

In June 2019, Ireland assumed the role of co-chair of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Donor Support Group. During the year as co-chair, Ireland will focus on the issues of gender in humanitarian crises, including prevention of gender based violence, as well as looking at the role of ICRC in protracted crises.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC)

The IRC is an important humanitarian partner for Ireland due to its longstanding history of working in humanitarian crises and its lead role in the protection of women and girls,. Ireland has been supporting the IRC for over 15 years, predominantly focused on the wellbeing of women and girls, their empowerment, and their protection from gender-based violence (GBV).

In 2019, Ireland and the IRC embarked on a new three-year Strategic Partnership focused on GBV. This partnership will deliver life-saving services for women and girl survivors of GBV in five of the most protracted, underfunded humanitarian settings around the world. Alongside this sits emergency response funding which will enable the IRC to rapidly put GBV services in place during the very earliest phase of an emergency. The partnership has consistently contributed to the delivery of our priority of promoting gender equality and the rights of women and girls as committed to through our A Better World Irelands Policy for International Development, Ireland's Third National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security‌, the Call to Action on Protection from GBV in Emergencies, the SDGs "leave no one behind" agenda, and the World Humanitarian Summit.

NGOs

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are key partners for Ireland in the delivery of aid in emergency crisis situations. They know the local situation or have partners on the ground, have long years of experience, understand what is required and can act quickly. Irish Aid provides predictable and coordinated humanitarian funding to seven key NGO partners – Concern Worldwide, Plan International Ireland, Trócaire, World Vision Ireland, Oxfam Ireland, GOAL, and Christian Aid Ireland.