[caption id="attachment_71835" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Eamon Gilmore "]
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore, TD, has announced €8 million in funding to tackle child under-nutrition and support cutting-edge research to boost agricultural productivity in the developing world.
The Tánaiste also announced that Ireland has met the target of investing 20 percent of the Irish Aid budget in "targeted and effective" programs to tackle global hunger. The target was set following publication of the Hunger Task Force Report of 2008.
Irish Aid is the government's program for overseas development. It is managed by the Development Cooperation Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Speaking at the launch of Concern Worldwide's campaign "1,000 Days of Baby Nutrition" in Dublin, Gilmore said Ireland had become a leading advocate internationally for urgent action to tackle hunger.
"Irish people have shown, by their generosity, time and time again that we will not ignore the plight of the poorest and most vulnerable, even during difficult times at home.
"Over the last three years, Ireland has forged a leading role in global efforts to fight hunger. Working with U.S. Secretary of State Clinton and with UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon, we have put food security at the center of the international agenda, particularly within the United Nations system.
Gilmore said Ireland would capitalize on its presidency of the European Union in 2013 to highlight hunger on the European Union's development agenda. He also paid tribute to Concern Worldwide for its campaign to combat hunger and under-nutrition.
