A major new report has praised Irish aid agencies for their efforts in tackling southern Africa's food crisis.
The report by consultants for the UK's Disasters Emergency Committee criticises its 12 member charities for overstating the seriousness of the crisis which arose in 2002/03 and for failing to consult the people they were trying to help.
However, the Irish agency Concern is singled out for the effectiveness of its response and the quality of its work. Other DEC members operating in Ireland, such as Action Aid and Christian Aid, are also praised.
Overall, the report is critical of the performance of many agencies, saying they did not listen to people's needs and made many mistakes. Almost 13 million people in seven southern African countries were affected by the crisis.
However, it says the appeal by the 12 agencies was justified, because it saved lives and eased suffering.
Concern produced the best final report seen by the evaluators and the agency's monitoring of the impact of their programmes was also good.
Overall, Concern raised €16 million for the crisis, which was spent in Malawi. The report praises its "very appropriate" programme, which it says was delivered by staff with a good understanding of local issues. It also praises the agency's system for learning from its projects.
The British Red Cross is criticised for running misleading adverts and the report is also critical of agencies that compared the crisis to the catastrophic Ethiopian famine of 1984/85.
