Media Statement, 7th May 2008

GOAL welcomed the award of €1 million from the Department of Foreign Affairs Irish Aid budget towards the emergency relief effort in Southern Ethiopia today.

Due to a prolonged period of drought, millions have been left vulnerable to malnutrition. Crops have failed and the livestock is slowly dying.

GOAL CEO John O’Shea said, “GOAL’s team in Ethiopia has established emergency feeding centres throughout three remote and famine-prone regions and is bringing truckloads of clean water where drought has hit hardest.

“This grant will allow GOAL’s team on the ground to continue providing much needed support to the threatened population.”