Ireland’s two largest aid organizations, Oxfam Ireland and GOAL, are in merger discussions following the latter’s rapid decline on the back of a financial misconduct investigation.
GOAL — an Ireland-based humanitarian organization that operates internationally with funding from the U.S. and U.K. governments, among others — has suffered a series of setbacks over the past year.
In March 2016, it was one of a number of major international NGOs placed under investigation by the U.S. Office of Inspector General for alleged supply chain irregularities, including bribery and bid-rigging, related to contracts to deliver aid to Syria from Turkey. The U.S. Agency for International Development subsequently suspended funds to some parts of the charity’s Syria program. While USAID has continued to fund many of GOAL’s other programs, the ongoing investigation and suspension of funds dealt a severe blow to the organization, which depends on USAID as its primary donor.
About the author
Molly Andersmollyanders_dev
Molly Anders is a former U.K. correspondent for Devex. Based in London, she reports on development finance trends with a focus on British and European institutions. She is especially interested in evidence-based development and women’s economic empowerment, as well as innovative financing for the protection of migrants and refugees. Molly is a former Fulbright Scholar and studied Arabic in Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco.
