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The majority of Australia's aid is delivered through bilateral programs in consultation with our development partners in the region. However, a significant component is delivered through multilateral and non-government organisations. In 2001-02, it is expected that Australia will expense $590.4 million to global programs (estimated cash payments will be $515.0 million). This assistance will support activities delivered by multilateral organisations and non-government organisations and will fund volunteer programs, humanitarian and emergency programs and communication, education and information programs.
Australia's support for multilateral organisations extends the reach of the aid program and leverages the benefits Australia's assistance can deliver. In promoting development, multilateral organisations fulfill valuable humanitarian, technical, policy dialogue and coordination functions. For example, they improve donor coordination by providing leadership on major global issues such as climate change and HIV/AIDS. The multilateral response to the crisis in East Timor illustrates how international organisations are able to marshal resources and coordinate large-scale responses, complementing the inputs of individual countries.
Australia has a strong interest in ensuring that any organisation it supports through the aid program performs effectively. Australia systematically assesses how well these organisations contribute to the objective of the aid program. The Multilateral Assessment Framework is used to assess the relevance and performance of United Nations and Commonwealth multilateral organisations.
Asian Development Fund (ADF) - Asian Development Bank $112.0 million
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative $11.5 million
International Development Association (IDA) - World Bank $135.1 million
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) $1.5 million
Total multilateral development banks $260.1 million
In 2001-02, Australia's contribution to multilateral development banks (MDBs) will total $260.1 million. As well as providing macroeconomic policy advice and assisting developing countries in the Asia-Pacific with highly concessional finance, MDBs play a critical role in promoting donor coordination, good governance and sound economic policies across the Asia-Pacific region.
Australia's priorities for 2001-02 are to engage the MDBs with a particular focus on their effectiveness as development partners in the Asia-Pacific region and to deepen their ongoing internal reform processes. Australia will work with the World Bank towards a successful conclusion to the 13th replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA) and to establish a policy framework for allocating resources on highly concessional terms to the world's poorest countries in the future.
The World Bank and the IMF are implementing the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. This initiative is providing debt relief to the world's poorest countries and ensuring that the proceeds of debt relief are directed to basic health, education and poverty reduction programs and not lost in corruption or military spending.
As well as contributing to the HIPC Initiative, Australia has pledged 100 per cent bilateral debt forgiveness to countries that qualify for debt relief under the enhanced HIPC Initiative. The Australian Government announced on 2 February 2001 that interim debt relief will be provided to Nicaragua, following the country's qualification for interim debt relief under the HIPC Initiative. Accordingly, Nicaragua will not be making debt repayments to Australia on its outstanding debt of $6.3 million. Following its cease-fire with Eritrea, Ethiopia is again being considered for debt relief and is expected to qualify under the enhanced HIPC Initiative in the near future. When Ethiopia receives debt relief under HIPC, all its debt owed to the Australian Government will be forgiven. The cost of this initiative is additional to the aid budget.
Australia will encourage the World Bank and the IMF to monitor and manage the delivery of debt relief to ensure this relief is sustainable and results in increased transfers of development spending.
UN agencies play a key role in poverty reduction and sustainable development. Australia's aid program will continue to engage actively with UN agencies to encourage improvements in UN development activities.
In 2001-02, Australia will provide $79.9 million in contributions to the following UN development and humanitarian organisations:
World Food Programme (WFP) $44.3 million
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) $14.3 million
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) $7.0 million
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) $4.9 million
United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) $3.8 million
United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) $2.2 million
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) $1.5 million
United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) $0.8 million
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) $0.65 million
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) $0.38 million
All UN development agencies are actively participating in mechanisms established under the UN reform agenda to improve the quality of development assistance.
WFP aims to improve the nutrition, quality of life and self-reliance of poor people and communities. UNDP advances its overall objective of sustainable development through the promotion of an enabling environment (including good governance), poverty reduction, protection of the environment and gender equality. Australian aid helps UNICEF, UNIFEM and UNFPA advance the rights and welfare of women and children through health, family planning, education and advocacy programs. Similarly, Australia's contributions to specialist UN agencies enhance their development programs, for example coordinating international drug control and meeting global environment concerns.
The Australian aid program seeks to maximise the developmental impact of Australia's contributions to the UN development agencies. This is done in part through: annual assessments of the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of UN agencies; less frequent in-depth reviews of individual agencies; support for broad-based UN reform including improved coordination and delivery at the field level; financial and administrative reform within agencies; and cooperation between the UN and other development bodies.
In 2001-02, Australia will provide $13.9 million to international health programs. Australia's key priorities are to provide an ongoing response to continuing global challenges, while also tackling emerging health problems. Persistent health problems include tuberculosis (TB), poor child, adolescent and maternal health, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health (including family planning) and polio. Increasing immunisation coverage, particularly for the poor, and micronutrient supplementation are still the key interventions to combat many of the most persistent health problems. Emerging global health challenges include non-communicable `lifestyle' diseases and violence against women.
To meet these challenges, AusAID's international health program will continue to build effective partnerships with multilateral agencies which further Australia's strategic global health agenda. These partnerships will emphasise primary health and complement our regional and bilateral relationships. In 2001-02, Australia will support:
The prevention of environmental degradation is important in achieving sustainable development and reducing poverty. The global nature of many of today's environmental challenges such as climate change, ozone depletion, persistent organic pollutants, loss of biological diversity and pollution of the marine environment demands an international response.
Australia, through its support for the activities and programs of international environment organisations, assists developing countries in addressing environmental imperatives on a scale that would not be possible on a bilateral basis. In 2001-02, Australia will continue to support the Global Environment Facility (GEF), designed to meet growing environmental concerns in developing countries. Funding for the GEF in 2001-02 will be $9.5 million. Australia will provide $4.5 million to the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund (MPMF) in 2001-02, which is helping developing countries phase out the use of ozone depleting substances by 2010. Australia will also contribute to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO).
Australia seeks to ensure that its aid and environmental priorities are reflected in the programs of international environment organisations. In 2001-02, Australia will continue to:
Australia will contribute $11.6 million during 2001-02 to Commonwealth organisations and programs assisting in the areas of good governance, institution building, human rights, economic policy making and small states development. This includes implementation of the second year of the Prime Minister's 1999 announcement that Australia's contribution to Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation would increase by 10 per cent per annum for three years. Assistance to the Trade and Investment Access Facility continues, as also pledged by the Prime Minister.
A Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will be held in Brisbane from 6 to 9 October 2001. Leaders will discuss the findings of the High Level Review Group, which has been reviewing the role of the Commonwealth and how best it can respond to the challenges of the new century. This Group is chaired by President Mbeki of South Africa and includes the heads of nine other governments including Australia. This review is closely linked to the CHOGM theme: The Commonwealth in the twenty first century: continuity and renewal.
Non-government organisations $26.7 million
Non-government organisations (NGOs) play a key role in the provision of Australian aid to developing countries. Through their strong links with communities in developing countries and partnerships with local organisations, NGOs are well placed to strengthen civil society and build longer-term sustainable development at the grass roots level. NGOs have also been very successful at mobilising public support and voluntary contributions for aid and engaging the Australian local community in aid activities.
The AusAID/NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) supports NGO activities that help reduce poverty in developing countries. Under this scheme, Australia supplements funds provided by the community, enhancing the scale and effectiveness of NGO activities and providing NGOs with the capacity to respond to their own regional and sectoral priorities. In 2001-02, funding for the ANCP will be $25.7 million.
Strengthening the quality of the NGO program is the overriding priority for AusAID's NGO relationship for 2001-02. This will be achieved by building a stronger learning environment in which AusAID and NGOs work cooperatively to share systematically lessons learned in the delivery of quality aid projects, by clarifying expectations of aid quality and by improving guidance to NGOs on AusAID systems.
Volunteer programs $18.6 million
In addition to their own unique experiences and relationships, volunteers bring back to Australia a greater appreciation of the culture, economies, and development needs of countries in the Asia-Pacific and beyond. Volunteers help to reduce poverty in those regions through skills transfer and institutional strengthening and heighten Australian community participation and interest in the aid program.
Four agencies currently receive grant funding under AusAID's Volunteer Programs: Australian Volunteers International (AVI), AESOP Business Volunteers, Interserve and the Paulian Lay Missionary Society (PALMS).
The Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development program (AYAD) is now an ongoing program, with an annual budget of $5.3 million in 2001-02. This commitment will enable the program to continue developing partnerships with Australian organisations, and education, community and government sectors through the placement of more young Australians on development assignments throughout the region.
Emergency aid $37.5 million
Humanitarian aid $48.1 million
of which: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) $2.2 million
In close cooperation with its international and domestic development partners, Australia aims to deliver quick, effective and targeted assistance to those caught in conflict and emergency situations. The aid program will continue to limit the human suffering of the vulnerable in humanitarian and emergency crises through improved preparedness, risk reduction and effective response.
In recent times there has been a disturbing growth in instability in the Asia-Pacific region with civil conflicts developing in East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Bougainville, and parts of the Philippines and Indonesia. In 2001-02, Australia will focus on humanitarian crisis response and conflict prevention in the Asia-Pacific region. This regional focus will be in the context of a continued strong global response to international humanitarian crises as they emerge. Other initiatives in 2001-02 will include:
As well as providing support for refugees, internally displaced people and other vulnerable groups, the humanitarian program is one element in the whole of government strategy to combat illegal people movements from major refugee host countries. AusAID is working closely with the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs to develop and manage appropriate support for countries of first asylum, and to support the voluntary return of illegal immigrants.
Australia's obligations under the Food Aid Convention require the provision of at least 250,000 tonnes of wheat or wheat equivalent each year. A growing proportion of this commitment is met through the humanitarian program. Over the last six years this food has been largely delivered through programs managed by the World Food Programme. WFP has a good reputation for efficiency and effectiveness. The renegotiation of the Food Aid Convention will provide an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of the current Convention's provisions and to support further reforms.
One in three nations of the world are contaminated to some degree by land mines and unexploded ordnance. The real risk of death and serious injury is a key obstacle to sustainable development in many of the world's poorest countries. Mines compound refugee problems, lay waste to large tracts of potentially productive land and interfere with transportation and communication. As a party to the Ottawa Convention on Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and On Their Destruction, Australia has committed $100 million towards mine action activities around the world from 1996-2005. To date some $97 million has been spent or committed to supporting mine action that builds indigenous capacity, integrates victim assistance and promotes mine awareness.
The Direct Assistance Program (DAP) is a small grants scheme used to fund projects ancillary to Australia's development cooperation program. The program is delivered through Australia's diplomatic posts with over 40 posts currently drawing on the scheme. The program will continue to focus on alleviating basic humanitarian hardships. Development activities supported under the program are directly aimed at assisting women, the poor and other disadvantaged people. In 2001-02, $3.8 million will be provided through the program.
The Government puts significant emphasis on informing the Australian people about the benefits aid delivers to the poor in developing countries, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. Expenditure on media, outreach, publications, internet, and global education activities for 2001-02 will be $2.3 million.
The Government will continue to implement a communication strategy that aims to inform increasing numbers of Australians about the aid program by targeting a range of media and public forums. AusAID will provide information about the aid program through:
AusAID's Global Education unit will provide aid and development teaching resources via its web site (http://globaled.ausaid.gov.au).
Speeches, press releases and details of AusAID publications may be found on the AusAID Internet site (http://www.ausaid.gov.au).
The Academic and Research Program will continue to focus on ensuring that Australia's aid program has access to relevant and high quality research. A total of $1.3 million will be provided in 2001-02. Research is a critical element in ensuring the quality and relevance of the aid program. The Academic and Research Program supports Australia's aid program by identifying and facilitating research into emerging development issues through open competition between research providers. The program also funds targeted distribution of the Asia-Pacific Economic Literature journal to developing countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
The International Seminar Support Scheme assists participants from developing countries to attend development-focused seminars both in Australia and overseas. Through enabling their participation, the scheme helps to develop knowledge, technical expertise, networks and policies relevant to pursuing sustainable development and reducing poverty in developing countries. Applications for support will continue to be assessed against the ability to show tangible and practical development-related outcomes. In 2001-02, $0.8 million will be provided to the scheme.
3 All figures in this section are calculated on a cash basis to provide estimates of the total funding Australia contributes to multilateral banks in the financial year.