Transcript UNIS Template

Reviving Dead Aid:
making international development
assistance work
Lowy Institute for International Policy | 4 August 2010
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
JOEL NEGIN | LECTURER IN INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH
Objective of the Policy Analysis and Presentation
› To provide an overview of global and Australian aid trends
highlighting why and to whom Australia gives aid and
assessing what works and what doesn’t work in international
development assistance.
Recent media headlines
In general, level of awareness about aid is low
What is Aid?
› Most of emphasis is on funding by government
› In Australia in particular, NGOs play a very large role in how the Australian
people interact with and understand the aid arena. The 72 members of
the Australian Council for International Development together contribute
approximately A$1 billion per year of which A$800m comes from public
donations.
ODA has increased dramatically especially since
2000
160000
140000
120000
US$
Millions
100000
80000
60000
40000
20000
0
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
Along with most other countries, Australia has increased its
official aid budget over the past few years
4500
0.6
ODA in constant 2009-10 AUD millions - left axis
4000
ODA as % of GNI - right axis
0.5
3500
3000
0.4
2500
0.3
2000
1500
0.2
1000
0.1
500
19
71
19
73
19
75
19
77
19
79
19
81
19
83
19
85
19
87
19
89
19
91
19
93
19
95
19
97
19
99
20
01
20
03
20
05
20
07
20
09
20
11
20
13
20
15
0
0
Official Development Assistance 2007
Australian Overseas Development Assistance by
region (2009-10)
Why do we give aid
› 1. clear need: Stephen Smith states that “our commitment to development
assistance is fundamentally based on our desire and responsibility to help
those in poverty.”
› This has the support of the Australian people – 58% of whom believe that
reducing poverty should be the top priority for Australia’s aid endeavours.[
› 2. international security
› 3. economic growth of our neighbours boosts us – rising tide lifts all
boats
› 4. foreign affairs: Stephen Smith ““our commitment to development
assistance is not separate from our foreign policy, it is a critical element of
our foreign policy.”
Recent Developments in Aid – the MDGs
1.
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
5.
Improve maternal health
2.
Achieve universal primary education
6.
3.
Promote gender equality and empower
women
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other
diseases
7.
Ensure environmental sustainability
Reduce child mortality
8.
Develop a global partnership for
development
4.
Recent Developments in Aid – New Actors
› New actors
- Taiwan – US$435m
- Turkey – US$802m
- Korea – US$892m
- Saudi Arabia – US$5564m (double that of Australia)
- Brazil, Iran, Malaysia; Cuba in Pacific
- China...
› Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - $16 billion disbursed
› Global Fund for AIDS TB Malaria - $19 billion approved
Recent Developments in Aid
Proliferation of Actors
Recent Developments in Aid
Proliferation of Actors and Complexity
Recent Developments in Aid
› 1. Developing countries driving their own development
agenda
› 2. The Global Fund aid model – demand-driven foreign
assistance (not decided in Canberra or Washington)
› 3. Emergence of micro-finance (eg. Muhammad Yunus and
BRAC) and deeper engagement by the private sector
Current Debates in Aid
Jeff Sachs - the amount of foreign aid has
been too low to achieve stated goals – it
needs to double
The “Bottom Billion” are limited by
conflict, a natural resources trap, have
bad neighbours and are landlocked.
Aid is not effective in causing a
“turnaround” in a failing state
Bill Easterly - $2.3 trillion on foreign aid since
1945 with no evidence that it has worked
Current Debates in Aid
Dambisa Moyo
Aid Failures
› 1. ODA as recorded by the OECD includes for example debt relief which
constituted a significant percentage of the 2004-2007 increase in aid
› 2. aid directed based on politics rather than need
Iraq
4266
Afghanistan
1459
Sudan
725
Colombia
562
Egypt
541
Source: OECD DAC (USD million, 2006/7)
› 3. Boomerang aid: While Australia has untied its aid in 2006 and is making
efforts to reduce its reliance on contractors, it still spends more (46%) on
such external technical assistance than other OECD countries.
AusAID reliance on contractors
› Corporations get the majority of Australian aid contracts and nearly 85% of the value of those
contracts
› Big six contractors took in more than A$2.2 billion from 2007-2010 (Cardno, Coffey, GRM, Hassall
& GHD, HK Logistics, JTA)
› A dramatic shift from NGOs to corporates took place over the Howard years -- before 2003, NGOs
got a larger share of contracts
Source: Crikey analysis
Food Aid
Delivered
$670/ton
Local
Purchase
$240/ton
Fertilizer,
Hybrid Seed
$77 to produce
an extra ton of food
Why should Japanese cows enjoy a higher
income than Africans?
Source: David Sanders, University of the Western Cape, , WHO workshop, May 29 2008; Kaiser Family
Foundation, Donor Funding for Health in Low- & Middle- Income Countries, 2001–2006
Despite some failures, aid has also been
successful
› Countries
- Vanuatu
- Ghana
- Rwanda
- Malaysia
› Projects
- Agricultural growth in Malawi
- 100% condom usage in Thailand
- Mobile banking in Kenya
Taiwan: A Development Success
1960-2000: 7% per annum economic
growth
120
HOW?
› Foreign aid
› Emphasis on education
› Good infrastructure (roads,
railways, ports)
› Land reform
› High rates of saving and
investment
100
80
60
40
20
› Effective government policies
0
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970
Reductions in Child Mortality
Deaths per1,000 live Births
200
1990: 12.7 million child deaths
2006: 9.7 million child deaths
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
East Asia & Pacific
Europe & Cenral
Asia
Latin America &
Carribbean
Region
Source: World Development Indicators Online
1990
1995
2005
2006
2000
Middle East & North
Africa
South Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Number of people receiving ARV therapy in lowand middle-income countries, 2002—2007
Security Council and Africa
300
262
250
200
137
150
100
80
50
0
Australia
Source: OECD DAC (USD million, 2008)
Luxembourg
Finland
The road ahead
› The aid budget is increasing – up to $8 billion
› And warrants scrutiny and a deeper conversation about where aid goes and how it
is spent
› AusAID is in the process of changing its systems to reflect changes in the aid
world, decentralising decision making, being more responsive to country needs
› AusAID has a unique challenge: big player in some regions (Pacific), niche actor in
others (Africa and South Asia)