Perceptions of children’s needs and Aid effectiveness in developing countries. Presented by: Purity Mwendwa & Agnes Kipalo TCD/UCD-Masters in Development Practice

Introduction Child Fund Ireland-(NGO) Registered in Ireland as an autonomous Irish Non Governmental Organization in 1991 and became operational in Facilitates the sponsorship of individual children in great need in 14 countries and manages development and emergency programmes worldwide. –Examples of countries where the organization works include Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Mozambique,Brazil, Mexico, India, Philippines, and Sri Lanka

Objectives of the study Strategic Objective To understand the Irish public’s perceptions of the needs facing the developing world. Research Objectives To establish the perceptions of the Irish public regarding child poverty in the developing world. Determine the level of support for international Aid agencies, how effective International Aid is perceived and to which countries support is directed. Assess the level of awareness of current global problems by the Irish Public.

Research Questions Child poverty: -In which regions and countries do children experience the greatest levels of poverty and hardship? -Is the situation for child poverty in the developing world improving ? Aid effectiveness: -Is international aid seen as effective in improving the lives of children in developing countries? Support for international aid: -Which countries, issues and types of aid programs do Irish support and contribute to financially? Global issues: -how important is the issue of child poverty in developing countries compared to other global problems? Awareness of humanitarian crises in Developing countries -Rate your awareness of the following humanitarian crises that have occurred within the last 12 months

Methodology The project relied on primary data sources and a quantitative method was chosen. Questionnaires were administered to collect the data from 28 respondents,14 males and 14 females who ranged from under 20 years to over 50 provided data. Most respondents were from the Dublin area while others were from Ulster and Galway. The majority were students followed by retired people, and business owners.

Research Results 1. Child Poverty in the Developing World 79% of the respondents chose Africa as the region with the greatest hardships while 13 and 8 percent went to Central and South America, and Asia respectively. The countries considered to have the greatest levels of poverty include Sudan,Zimbabwe, Congo, India, Philippines, Columbia and Brazil Children’s Poverty by regions

Most pressing issues in Developing countries Most respondents maintained that education is vital because it is an important avenue by which various groups can lift themselves out of poverty. China was seen as the developing country which has had the most improvement in addressing problems facing children followed by India and Brazil. Sudan and Zimbabwe were mentioned as the countries in which problems facing children have worsened. Respondents cited the political instability in these countries as the contributing factor.

2.The effectiveness of international aid International aid was regarded as “somewhat effective” in assisting children in developing countries. Non-religious international aid agencies and the United Nations agencies were rated as having a higher level of effectiveness. Seen as least effective were the private sector, religious international agencies and the Irish Government. 21 percent of the respondents expressed their lack of knowledge regarding specific roles played by international aid agencies and their effectiv eness. Corruption and poor governance were deemed the top obstacles to delivering aid Obstacles to delivering Aid

3. Support for International aid Giving more or less to aid programmes Rating the overall spending of international aid The majority of the respondents felt that Irish businesses, Irish individuals and the Irish government should give more to aid agencies. From these 3 groups 67 percent of the respondents believe that Irish businesses should be at the fore front of giving more aid.

Global issues Poverty and hardship for children was considered the most important current global problem. 45 percent of the respondents said they knew a lot about the recent earthquake in Haiti due to media coverage There was a lack of knowledge regarding humanitarian crisis in Africa with 40% saying they did not know, for example, about the current food shortages in Malawi.

Conclusion The research revealed that Africa is believed to be the region in which children face the greatest levels of hardship. Most respondents believe that international aid plays a role in alleviating poverty in the developing world. Most believe that the plight of populations as opposed to the character of the state should determine eligibility for western aid. There was a general lack of awareness regarding international aid, a gap that can be filled by Child Fund by way of raising greater awareness on the issue.