Australia's aid program

Facts Background The global agenda Facts In 2011-2012 the Australian Government plans to spend almost $4.8 billion on development assistance. This is an estimated 0.35% of Gross National Income for the year. Australian taxpayers contribute around $3.30 per week each to Australia's aid program. The Australian Government has committed to increase Australia's official development assistance (ODA) to Gross National Income (GNI) ratio from 0.34% in 2009‑10 to 0.5 per cent by 2015‑16. Australian Government funding for NGOs through AusAID amounted to $160.45 million in 2008-09, which is around 14.5% of the total funds raised by the sector. In 2008-09 the Australian community contributed $808.8million to non-government organisations (NGO) for their overseas programs which makes up 73% of their total funds raised. In 2008-09 about 1.08 million Australian people belonged to regular supporter programs, a 4.9% decrease on the 2007-08 period. There were 12,712 volunteers contributing their time to the work of NGOs. Sources: http://www.ausaid.gov.au and http://www.acfid.asn.au/resources/facts-and-figures/facts-and-figures Background Why does Australia give aid? Australia wants to be a good international citizen. That reflects a key Australian characteristic: a commitment to help people less fortunate than ourselves, a belief in a fair go for all. When there is a need there is generally a strong response with offers of money, goods, personal time and knowledge. The Australian Government's overseas aid program aims to assist developing countries reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development, in line with Australia's national interest. It is guided by the Millennium Development Goals, the internationally agreed targets for poverty reduction. Australia gives aid to other countries because it improves our regional security. Australia helps partner governments improve law and order, prevent and recover from conflict, and manage a range of transnational threats to security such as people trafficking, illicit drugs, HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases. By helping to build stronger communities and more stable governments Australia helps improve their ability to be stable trading partners. What are the core principles of the Australian Government's aid? The core principles of Australia's aid program are: accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals; a recognition that while economic growth is the most powerful long‑term solution to poverty, economic growth will not, by itself, deliver fair and stable societies; a strong emphasis on the Asia-Pacific, while also increasing our efforts in Africa and South Asia; an emphasis on the power of education to promote development; and a commitment to continue to improve effectiveness. How is aid delivered? Australia works with partner country governments and a range of partner organisations including other Australian Government Departments, the United Nations, Australian and international companies and non-government organisations to design and set up projects which tackle the causes and consequences of poverty in developing countries. The Australian Government's overseas aid is distributed in a number of forms: Bilateral aid – Aid given from the government of one country to the government of another country. In designing an aid program for an individual country, Australia works closely with the country's government and its communities. The idea is to make sure that each program reflects the country's development priorities, our aid policies and our capacity to assist. These programs can incorporate a wide range of activities from small community-based projects to large regional development schemes. Multilateral aid – Aid is given by the governments of many countries and distributed through international organisations such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the World Food Programme. Australia supports effective multilateral agencies engaged in poverty reduction and sustainable development to complement and reinforce its bilateral aid. This aid is for large scale projects which include emergency relief and funding for transnational issues such as global warming and control of disease, and large scale infrastructure projects. Australia has sought to improve the effectiveness of these organisations by focusing on donor coordination, good governance and sound economic policies. Emergency humanitarian relief - Aid to help recovery from disasters and conflict. Australia's emergency, humanitarian and refugee programs respond quickly, flexibly and effectively, providing grants, food aid, medicines and shelter materials. Strengthening preparedness for future emergencies is also part of this response. Partnerships with non-government organisations (NGOs) - Grants to NGOs to deliver programs which address AusAID's priorities at a community level. NGOs undergo a strict accreditation program to prove their ability to deliver aid effectively for AusAID. Community involvement – Funding for volunteer and education programs within Australia. How much aid does Australia give? The Australian Government will provide almost $4.8 billion in Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2011-12, an increase of $0.4 million over the 2010-11 figure of $4.4 billion. The ratio of Australia's ODA to Gross National Income (GNI) for 2011-12 is estimated at 0.35%. The aim is to increase ODA to 0.5% of GNI by 2015-16. Which countries receive Australian aid? Australian Government aid is strongly focussed on the Asia Pacific region but it also has a strong commitment to Africa and South Asia. Most of Australia's aid activities are conducted through bilateral aid partnerships. In 2008 the Pacific Partnerships for Development launched a new model of cooperation in which Australia and its neighbours commit to jointly achieving shared goals. This means increasingly Australia will work through, rather than alongside, different countries’ own systems of government and service delivery. The top ten countries for Australia Government aid in 2011-2012 (in millions of dollars) Indonesia 558.1 Papua New Guinea 482.3 Solomon Islands 261.6 Afghanistan 165.1 Vietnam 137.9 East Timor 123.7 Philippines 123.1 Pakistan 92.8 Bangladesh 92.0 Cambodia 64.2 (Budget, Australia’s International Development Assistance Program (2011-12) http://cache.treasury.gov.au/budget/2011-12/content/download/ms_ausaid.pdf View a clickable map of highlights of Australia's aid program http://www.ausaid.gov.au/about/ausaidmap.cfml How does the Australian community support overseas aid? In 2008-09 the Australian community contributed $808.8 million to non-government organisations (NGO) for their overseas programs, a decrease of $4 million on the previous year. This figure includes funds raised from donations, fundraisers, bequests, and company donations, and makes up around 73% of total funds raised by NGOs. About 1.13 million people belong to regular supporter programs, a 4.9% decrease on the 2007-08 period. These funds support programs run by the NGOs in 110 countries. There were also 12,712 volunteers contributing their time to the work of NGOs. The Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) is the independent national association of about 80 Australian non-government organisations working in the field of international aid and development. It administers a Code of Conduct committing members to high standards of integrity and accountability. What makes aid effective? Aid can be considered effective to the extent that it assists countries to develop and to overcome poverty. Some factors that can influence the effectiveness of aid are: a sound and stable policy framework; market based policies which encourage integration in the global economy; an emphasis on social development; enhanced participation by the local population, and notably by women; good governance, transparency and accountability; support for health, education, agriculture and public infrastructure development; policies and practices that are environmentally sustainable; and better means of preventing and resolving conflict and fostering reconciliation. Effective aid depends on the partnership between donors and recipients. Donors need to deliver sufficient and predictable aid without unrealistic conditions such as multiple forms of reporting or tied to purchases from the donor countries. Recipients need good governance, to address corruption, and adopt policies that sustain economic growth and improve human development. To be effective the aid program must adapt to the circumstances in each country. The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, endorsed by over 100 countries in 2005, committed their countries and organisations on five key areas: Ownership – Partner countries exercise effective leadership over their development policies and strategies to co-ordinate development actions. Alignment – Donors base their overall support on partner countries’ national development strategies, institutions and procedures. Harmonisation – Donors’ actions are more harmonised, transparent and collectively effective. Managing for Results – Managing resources and improving decision-making for results. Mutual Accountability – Donors and partners are accountable for development results. Is aid the answer? The Accra Agenda for Action of 2008 is in place to accelerate the progress towards the goals of the Paris Declaration. The key components of the agenda are: Improving the way aid is delivered in 'fragile states'; Being more transparent and accountable in the way aid is delivered; Developing stronger partnerships; Untying aid and using partner country systems much more to deliver aid; Encouraging new aid donors to also implement the Accra Action Agenda. Aid is necessary to build an environment where policies and infrastructure can be in place to support other sources of finance. Aid to developing countries is only a small proportion of the total level of external financing provided to developing countries. International trade, foreign direct investment, debt forgiveness, remittances from citizens working overseas and domestic savings all contribute to the development of the country. For further information: Australian Government Overseas aid http://www.ausaid.gov.au Australian Council for International Development http://www.acfid.asn.au/resources/facts-and-figures/facts-and-figures The global agenda Official Development Assistance Aid is not a hand out but a hand up. By addressing the massive gap between the haves and have nots aid can help make the world a fairer and a more prosperous place. In a world tightly linked by trade and investment flows, poverty in one country diminishes the potential for prosperity elsewhere. There is an increasing international commitment to improve the quality and quantity of aid. The United Nations has set a target for developed countries to contribute 0.7% of their Gross National Income in aid to developing countries. The 22 member countries of the OECD Development Assistance Committee, the world’s major donors, provided $US 128.7 billion in aid in 2010. This represents an increase from 0.31% of members’ combined gross national income in 2009 to 0.32% in 2010, an iincrease of 6.5% over 2009 and is the highest ODA level ever, surpassing even the volume provided in 2005 which was boosted by exceptional debt relief. In 2010 Norway, Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands all exceeded the 0.7% target. In 2010 the United States was the world's largest single aid donor in volume terms ($US30.2 billion or 0.21% of GNI), followed by the United Kingdom ($US13.7 billion, 0.56%), France ($US12.9 billion, 0.5%), Germany ($US12.7 billion, 0.38%) and Japan ($US11 billion, 0.2%). http://www.oecd.org/dac/ Millennium Development Goals The Millennium Development Goals commit the international community to an expanded vision of development, one that vigorously promotes human development as the key to sustaining social and economic progress in all countries, and recognizes the importance of creating a global partnership for development. The goals have been commonly accepted as a framework for measuring development progress. Goal 8 calls for an open, rule-based trading and financial system, more generous aid to countries committed to poverty reduction, and relief for the debt problems of developing countries. http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ Global Recession In 2008 and 2009 the global economy experienced soaring food and fuel prices, the collapse of global financial markets, and a significant reduction in world economic demand. Global growth declined from 8.1% in 2007 to around 1.7% in 2009. The crisis had severe implications for developing countries as a result of reduced direct investment, export revenue (including tourism revenues) and remittances. Although recovery from the global recession is underway, there continue to be significant challenges to progressing growth in developing countries. http://www.ausaid.gov.au/makediff/gec.cfm

Trained personnel help deliver improved services and training to people in developing countries. Australian aid assists developing countries reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development.