Irish Aid

Irish Aid is the Irish Government’s official aid programme managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), working on behalf of the Irish people to address poverty, hunger and humanitarian need in some of the poorest countries in the world. The provision of humanitarian assistance continues to form a vital part of Ireland’s development cooperation engagement.

The Rapid Response Initiative is a central feature of Ireland’s humanitarian assistance programme. It is an operational tool designed to contribute to Ireland’s overarching humanitarian goal of saving and protecting lives by addressing capacity and resource constraints in the international humanitarian system. There are two key elements:

• The roster of highly-skilled and experienced individuals – a Rapid Response Corps – for deployment overseas, at short notice, to work with Ireland’s UN Standby humanitarian partners as part of their emergency response efforts.

• The pre-positioning and transportation of essential humanitarian supplies – shelter and housing supplies including blankets, tents, kitchen sets, soap and mosquito nets, as well as water supply and sanitation equipment – to disaster and crisis areas.