LONDON (AlertNet) - Irish international aid organisation Trocaire will cut projects in nine countries because its funding has dried up during the global economic crisis.

Aid groups and charities have struggled to maintain operations during the worldwide recession but Trocaire's departure from Brazil, Tanzania, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Haiti this year and Zambia, Nigeria, Peru and Indonesia in 2010 will be one of the biggest casualties.

"Trocaire has never faced a crisis like this before," the group's director Justin Kilcullen said in a statement.

"Trocaire has been forced to close food, agriculture and healthcare programmes because we simply don't have enough money to keep all our programmes running."

The Catholic Church in Ireland set up Trocaire in 1973 as its development agency. It now has a wide range of projects around the world - from emergency relief to sustainable development, coping with climate change and HIV/AIDS and supporting gender equality.

The group said it had expected to receive 23 million euros ($33 million) from the Irish government this year but instead received 16 million euros. Public donations - half of the group's total income - have also fallen by 10 percent.

To reduce costs, Trocaire will cut 27 jobs in Ireland and cut back its programmes in the 27 countries where it will continue to work.

But the losses will still mount up.

"Trocaire is expecting a shortfall of about 30 million euros between now and 2011," Kilcullen said.

"This is a painful time for everybody in Trocaire and we deeply regret the fact that these cuts are necessary."

The economic downturn has hit Ireland particularly hard. Unemployment is predicted to reach over 15 percent by the end of 2010 and economists expect the country's gross domestic product to contract by about 8 percent this year - a far deeper recession than seen in other western European countries.

British-based Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), an umbrella group for aid organisations and charities around the world, said funding for most groups had slackened over the last year.

Last week CAF said that half of Russian organisations had experienced a 25 percent drop in income during the recession.

"Charities are the last safety net for many in society during an economic downturn," CAF boss John Low said.

"Those who provide services are being particularly hard hit as lots of them are experiencing a drop in funding and an increase in demand for their services."

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