Ireland

The development and foreign policy priorities of Ireland strongly align with the work and mandate of UNFPA. Ireland’s policy for international development names gender equality and strengthening governance to realize human rights as two of four overarching policy priorities, with a particular focus on reaching those furthest behind. The policy commits to intensifying work in intervention clusters on protection and people, including health and education action. Ireland’s policy focus aligns strongly with UNFPA’s work on ensuring access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, ending maternal and infant mortality, promoting HIV/AIDS prevention strategies, and ending gender-based violence.

Ireland is also committed to reduce humanitarian needs by anticipating and responding to crises to protect the most vulnerable. In cooperation with UNFPA, this has been manifested through targeted contributions to UNFPA’s Humanitarian Thematic Fund. Ireland furthermore has been a reliable contributor to UNFPA core resources.

Additional areas of collaboration between Ireland and UNFPA at country programme level include: gender-based violence prevention and response; empowering women to exercise their sexual and reproductive health and rights (including for adolescents and youth); as well as the prevention of teenage pregnancy.