Sir, – The world is now at a crossroads. Hunger, malnutrition, child stunting, acute food insecurity, food price inflation and extreme poverty are on the rise for the first time in many years.
At least 202 million children under five live in severe food poverty, and 356 million children are currently living in extreme poverty – a situation surely unacceptable to all of us.
As a child-focused organisation, World Vision Ireland is calling on the Government to put children and young people at the centre of Budget 2024.
In this budget, the Government has an opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to children in the world’s most fragile contexts.
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Our 2024 budget submission reflects on Ireland’s leadership in providing principled and quality overseas development aid.
However, this leadership must begin with a clear plan towards the commitment to allocate 0.7 per cent of gross national income on official development assistance by 2030.
In considering Budget 2024, we are calling on the Government to deliver a children-centred budget which addresses children’s rights; hunger and nutrition; humanitarian crises; and climate justice.
Ireland and the rest of the world have fallen a long way short on their pledges towards the sustainable development goals and climate action targets, and it is having an unjust and unequal impact on the lives of children all around the world.
The gap between rhetoric, ambition and implementation must be closed.
The cost of inaction is severe. – Yours, etc,
GILLIAN BARNETT,
CEO,
World Vision Ireland.