Aid Myths Busted

A very good, and short, critique of commonly heard criticism of international development cooperation (or “overseas aid”)

Why Ireland invests in overseas aid

Anyone wondering why Ireland continues to spend money on overseas aid, take your pick from these quotes from the last week: Speeches by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore

Rio+20 – A Time To Move Forward

Some reflections ahead of the June 2012 UN conference on Sustainable Development

Can the world feed 7 billion people?

An overview of some of the key arguments made in relation to the growing world population.

World Humanitarian Day – Suggested Resources

Today is World Humanitarian Day. A day to celebrate the dedication of all those people working to help victims of disaster, hunger, disease and conflict. And here are some resources for further reading.

Irish NGOs and SPHERE standards for humanitarian aid

On 14 April, Plan Ireland and Dóchas launched the revised SPHERE standards for humanitarian assistance. This blog explains why, and sets out how Irish NGOs work together to set – and apply – professional standards for their work. And it argues that we need everyone to insist that NGOs do adhere to those codes.

Pakistan & Haiti 2010: Investing in Prevention?

2010 saw mega disasters in Haiti and Pakistan. And, despite severe economic crisis at home, a generous response from people across Ireland. This blog argues that it pays to invest in aid, to prevent future crises.

In defence of NGO overhead costs

If we want to make sure aid from Ireland is as good as it can get, we need to encourage NGOs to invest in quality, not be slave to the myth that “charities” must at all times keep their overhead costs to a minimum.

How you can help people back from the brink

Following the catastrophic floods in Pakistan, this blog sets out a few issues relating to effective humanitarian aid, and encourages the reader to log onto www.HowYouCanHelp.ie, a public information website about the principles and mechanisms of effective relief.

Pakistan Floods: Lessons learned from other flooding disasters

As people in Pakistan struggle to recover from the catastrophic flooding in many parts of that country, and Irish aid agencies are assisting the most vulnerable people, we list a few of the lessons learned in the past, in the hope of informing future relief programmes.