AusAID

VCAA

• the aims and objectives of the Australian Government’s AusAID and the role it plays in programs to improve global health and sustainable human development;

AusAID

Is the Australian Agency for International Development. It has had the responsibility of managing the Australian Government’s overseas aid program and delivering development initiatives since 1974.

AusAID is a federally funded organisation.

Must Know!

• Aims and Objectives of AusAidTo assist developing countries reduce poverty

and achieve sustainable development, in line with Australia’s national interest, with a particular focus on neighbouring countries in the Asia–Pacific region. Australia’s development assistance focus on poverty is guided by the MDG’s, the internationally agreed targets for poverty reduction

How much aid does Australia give?

• In 2010–11, Australia will provide $4.3 billion worth of official development assistance. The Australian Government continues to increase aid in line with other donor countries. By 2015-16 the annual aid figure is estimated to reach around $8–9 billion (0.5 per cent of Gross National Income).

• There are 4 overriding themes:– Accelerating economic growth– Fostering functioning and effective states– Investing in people– Promoting regional stability

Areas of focus include:

• Disability• Education• Environment• Food security• Gender• Governance• Health, HIV/AIDS, pandemics• Human rights• Infrastructure• Millennium Development Goals• Regional stability• Rural development• Water and sanitation.

Examples ofthe different aid provided include

• Bilateral aid: One example is a partnership with the Solomon Islands to improve essential services such as economic policy, law and justice. Another example is the Infrastructure for Growth Initiative committed until 2011 to

improve roads, rural electrification and transportation in developing countries such as Papua New Guinea.

• Multilateral aid: In conjunction with UNICEF, provision of education and improved water and sanitation in Pakistan three years after a major earthquake

• Emergency aid: In the form of relief supplies, medical teams, law and order personnel, transport and communication after a natural disaster or in response to emergency situation.

Must Know:Why does the Australian Government provide

overseas aid?• To improve the economic and financial management in

govts. and strengthen their democracy• Help maximise the benefits from trade and new technology• Support govt. stability by improving vital services such as

education, healthcare, water and sanitation• Strengthen regional security by helping govts. prevent

conflict.• Increase stability and manage trans-boundary issues such as

disease, illegal migration and the flow of refugees• Promote sustainable approaches to environmental

management and the use of resources.

AusAID videos

• http://www.youtube.com/user/AusAIDvideo• Aid map• http://www.ausaid.gov.au/about/ausaidmap.

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Australian aid:• supported free fistula surgery for over 2,500 Ethiopian women

through the Hamlin Fistula Hospital• connected more than 339,000 people in poor urban areas in

Indonesia to essential water and sanitation in less than a year• assisted with the construction of 828 schools and the training of

45,000 teachers in Afghanistan• funded 64 village health fairs in Samoa, boosting childhood

vaccinations• helped test 134,000 people in Papua New Guinea for HIV since

2006• helped East Timor to reduce infant deaths by more than 25 per

cent since 2003• will contribute to vaccinating more than seven million children

through the GAVI Alliance from 2011–13.

Research an AusAID program at www.ausaid.gov.au.

Choose the tab ‘Australia’s Aid Program’ then ‘Aid Close Up’. Choose a recent aid program to research, using the following questions as a guide.

1 Where is the program located?2 Why is the program needed?3 How does AusAID contribute to the program? (This may

be financial, supply of resources, etc.)4 Outline the improvements the program may offer the

country involved.5 Discuss how the program may improve the sustainable

human development of the country.

link between aid and sustainable humandevelopment

Improving the educational opportunities of children increases their choices in life. Education gives them a path out of poverty, allowing them to obtain employment – in this case, nursing – that will improve their health and standard of living, and participate in the community through employment and use of goods and services. Education will give them the ability to make informed choices, which will also impact on the community. This is also sustainable as a culture of education is created, which should continue with each generation. The building of schools contributes to this culture and the use of local materials enables more schools to be built using the same model. The involvement of the community in the building of schools demonstrates their commitment to the program and their desire to improve the sustainable human development of the community.

• You must know examples of programs!

Papua New Guinea

Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea program estimated Official Development Assistance (ODA) 2010-11 $457.2

millionDevelopment challengesPapua New Guinea (PNG) faces significant development challenges. Australia remains deeply

committed to working with PNG to achieve sustained economic growth and alleviate poverty.Around 40 per cent of PNG's population lives in poverty, that is, on less than US$1 a day. Papua New

Guineans have low life expectancy and high infant and maternal mortality.PNG's population is geographically and culturally diverse with over 700 cultural groups, many in

remote areas. Service delivery is expensive and logistically challenging and communities have difficulty accessing quality health care, education and adequate transport.

Most Papua New Guineans live in rural areas but increasing numbers of people are moving to urban centres, where poverty, unemployment and civil unrest are growing.

Violence against women is common and access to education and employment opportunities is much less for females than males.

PNG is experiencing rapid, sustained population growth of an estimated 2.7 per cent a year and has the highest rate of reported HIV cases in the region. In 2009, an estimated 98,757 people or 2.56 per cent of the adult population are living with HIV/AIDS.

Education in Papua New Guinea

More children in school• While school enrolments are on the increase, Papua New Guinea is

struggling to educate an estimated 2 million elementary and primary aged children.

Key challenges• Over 500,000 children aged 6-12 do not go to school. • It’s estimated half the adult population cannot read or write. • More boys than girls go to school and complete basic education. • More classrooms are needed. • Teachers need more training. • Management and financing from a national to school level needs

strengthening

prime Ministers Michael Somare and Kevin Rudd have committed to increasing PNG’s basic education net enrolment rate from 53 per cent in 2007, to 70 per cent in 2015, which amounts to an additional 300,000 children in school.

Key areas of Australian supportSubsidies to schools, to remove school fees for the first three grades of elementary. Classrooms, teacher houses and other school buildings to improve access to schools. Materials including textbooks to improve the quality of education. Teacher education to improve the quality of teaching. ResultsIn recent years, significant progress has been made in the enrolment and retention of primary and elementary

students. The net basic education enrolment rate has increased from 52 per cent in 2007 to 63 per cent in 2009. Specific achievements made through Australian assistance in 2009 include:construction of 176 double classrooms, 47 teacher houses and 13 other buildings such as library,

administration, toilets and fencing in 229 schools maintenance grants to 189 schools for small rehabilitation works procurement of 539 000 primary school textbooks delivered in the first half of 2010 printing and distribution of 180,000 HIV/AIDS booklets to schools and provinces in-service teacher training to 33,000 teachers including the production of training manuals 61 per cent of schools have adopted the School Learning Improvement Plan model to improve school

management training of Board of Management teams including monitoring and supervision to 2284 primary and

225 elementary schools better information management systems including Department of Education website.

Health in PNG

• Papua New Guinea faces some serious health challenges. Babies, children and mothers continue to die in large numbers from preventable causes. There’s poor drug distribution and the largely rural and remote population find it hard to access basic medical services.

Key challenges• the rate of women dying from complications relating to childbirth is

the highest in the Pacific • nearly seven percent of children do not live past their fifth birthday • the life expectancy for men in PNG is only 53 years, for females it’s

54 years • malaria is widespread and is the major cause of death in children • shortage of rural health workers • distribution of health supplies to provinces

What is being doneAustralia and PNG have agreed to increase the percentage of babies delivered under

the supervision of skilled staff, immunise more children and reduce malaria and tuberculosis.

Under the Health Sector Improvement Program, Australia and other development partners are working through the PNG health system so, in the long-term the PNG National Department of Health can manage and deliver health services. Donor contributions include operational costs for public health activities and staff training.

Australia also funds the World Health Organization in PNG to advise the PNG Government in critical local health areas including: tuberculosis, human resources, pandemic and emergency preparedness such as the current cholera outbreak, and maternal and child health.

Results

• decrease in malaria incidence and deaths from 287 per 1000 deaths in 2004 to 236 per 1000 in 2008 • immunisation of 900,000 children against measles and other childhood illnesses in 2008 • an increase in HIV testing sites from 66 in 2006 to 226 by 2009 • an increase in PNG Stop TB program from 2 provinces in 2007 to 5 in 2008