We could be facing a dire situation’: Irish aid agencies on the impact on the ground of funding cuts
Concern Worldwide Liberia's Country Director, Ciara Begley, and Somalia Country Director, Richard Nunn, spoke to The Irish Times about the impact of reduced humanitarian funding on vulnerable communities and the growing challenges of delivering life-saving support.
Below are excerpts from their interviews, as reported by The Irish Times, highlighting the realities facing communities on the ground.
“Quiet deaths” That’s how Ciara Begley, Concern Worldwide’s country director in Liberia, describes the devastating impact of malnutrition on children in communities where humanitarian support cannot reach everyone.
“We can’t be everywhere,” she says.
“And out there in a rural community, if you are a young adolescent girl with a child that is malnourished, a lot of the time that child just dies quietly in that community.”
Somalia: Growing pressure on essential services
In Somalia, years of international support helped the country avert famine in 2022 and 2023. Today, reduced humanitarian funding is putting increasing pressure on services for people experiencing hunger and malnutrition.
Richard Nunn, Concern Worldwide’s country director in Somalia, warns that the situation could deteriorate further.
“It’s not as serious yet as it was 2½ years ago, but depending on the rains and El Niño we could be looking at a really dire situation,” he says.
The effects of funding cuts are already being felt across the country. Around 300 health facilities closed in the first year of the cuts, while NGOs have shut offices and suspended operations, leaving vulnerable communities struggling to access essential support.
Nunn says Concern’s own team in Somalia has reduced from 170 to 100 staff, and its geographical reach has contracted. Meanwhile, clinics are becoming increasingly crowded, with fewer staff available to support the people who need them.
Although emergency food supplies to treat malnutrition have been promised until the end of the year, there is no certainty about what will be available beyond that point.
New sources of support, but growing uncertainty
Concern has secured some targeted support from private foundations in the United States to help sustain its work in Somalia. While this funding has made a meaningful difference, it also reflects the growing challenge of securing the resources needed to meet humanitarian needs.
"We have found other sources – private foundations in the US are providing some targeted, select support to Concern – but other organizations are having difficulties," Nunn says.
“We have found other sources – private foundations in the US are providing some targeted, select support to Concern – but other organizations are having difficulties,” Nunn says.
“Private foundations are new for Concern. It’s not bad [the funding] – it’s much more than token. But it’s telling that that is now having to come from the private sector.”
With needs continuing to grow and funding beyond the end of the year uncertain, the ability of humanitarian organizations to reach people facing hunger and malnutrition remains under increasing pressure.
