HAPPY holiday snaps and the glittering spectacle of this summer’s Confederations Cup reveal one side of South Africa. But an equally true picture is reflected in inadequate HIV/Aids services and poor sanitation infrastructure in some parts of the country.
According to Cáit Moran, head of development at the Irish Embassy in Pretoria, it is delivering assistance and support to governmental organisations and NGOs in a bid to improve lives in one of the country’s poorest provinces, Limpopo.
Ranked as a lower middle income country, South Africa has recently entered recession, explains Moran, so “donor support is probably even more important now than at the start of the year”.
A “substantial income gap” exists, and HIV/Aids sadly remains “a huge issue” with the prevalence rate the third highest in southern Africa. “It is an enormous challenge,” underlines Moran.
Ireland’s aid programme in South Africa has operated since 1994, when the country broke free of apartheid, and its current five-year plan runs until 2012. It is budgeted at €65m, but this has been affected by Ireland’s economic downslide.
“We’ve had less money than anticipated, ” concedes Moran, “but we’ve committed to honouring the €65m, it will just take a little longer than planned.”
The country’s “excellent macro-economic financial management” ensures less scepticism among donors about where the money is going, she adds.
As well as promoting capacity-building, Ireland’s programme funds groups and organisations offering practical assistance to those affected by a range of issues, recently moving into the area of gender-based violence.
For example, assistance from Irish Aid has resulted in the establishment of a referral clinic in a particularly rural area of Limpopo which will assist people affected by gender-related violence, such as rapes – “a consequence and driver of HIV”, as Moran outlines.
It’s all serious stuff, but embassy staff – which includes Irish and South Africans – also facilitate activities which reflect the lighter side of development assistance, such as a recent visit by the British and Irish Lions to a township in Johannesburg.
Moran says its “a privilege” to be in a young democracy such as South Africa, and that a “positive” attitude can be felt in the countdown to the 2010 World Cup.
