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A scene of the damage created by Cyclone
Rene on Vava'u, Tonga.
Cook Islands and Tonga battered
by cyclones
The Cook Islands and Tonga were hit by
Cyclone Pat and Cyclone Rene on...
Support for small scale Papua New
Guinean farmers on the way
Small scale farmers in Papua New Guinea
(PNG) are set to receive a hel...
The global fight against disease
It is shockingly recent that AIDS treatment in
most developing countri...
Wellington rugby players receive
thanks for helping to tackle domestic
violence
Wellington rugby player Victor Vito accepted
a certificate of apprecia...
Work plan contributing to better
education in Vanuatu signed
On 3 February the New Zealand,
Australian and Vanuatu Governments,
and the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) signed the Vanuatu Ministry of
Education’s annual work plan for 2010,
which will contribute to better education
for school children in Vanuatu.
The 2010 annual work plan was
prepared by the Ministry of Education
based on priorities and strategies
identified in the Vanuatu Education Road
Map (VERM), a three year plan for
education in Vanuatu developed in 2009.
The annual work plan includes funding
and support to reduce and phase out
fees in primary schools from 2010 and
funding for the development of 32 new
primary school classrooms.
The NZAID programme has committed
up to NZ$12 million over three years to
support the Ministry of Education’s
putting the VERM into practice. In the
2010 calendar year, the New Zealand
Government will provide approximately
NZ$4.5 million directly to the Ministry to
help implement the work plan and
provide funding support for Technical
Advisors.
Donors and Vanuatu
Government representatives
sign the VERM work plan for
2010.
New police housing in Solomon
Islands a step closer
A significant step has been made in
gaining new accommodation for Royal
Solomon Islands Police Force officers
with the announcement that tenders are
being sought for the construction of 84
new police houses.
The new or refurbished houses will
NewZAID No. 66 | February 2010
NewZAID updates you in brief on key issues and events on the NZAID
programme agenda. Please click on the useful links included in this newsletter to explore
issues in greater depth.
Cook Islands and Tonga battered by cyclones
The Cook Islands and Tonga were hit
by Cyclone Pat and Cyclone Rene on
11 February and 14 February
respectively, causing significant
damage to Aitutaki (Cook Islands) and
limited damage throughout Tonga.
Penrhyn in the Northern Cook Islands
was also affected by storms, with
Tropical Depression 11F causing
damage to homes and buildings.
A limited number of homes were
destroyed by the cyclones while a
number of others were damaged.
Fortunately there have been no
fatalities or major injuries. Crops have
been significantly damaged in both
Aitutaki and Tonga but there are no immediate food needs. The cyclones cut power,
telecommunications and water supplies which have since been largely restored.
In order to manage the New Zealand response, the Emergency Task Force, the core
group of government agencies and non-government organisations that have direct
involvement in, and responsibility for, disaster relief and response in the Pacific, met
regularly and crisis response mechanisms were put in place.
New Zealand is liaising closely with the Cook Islands and Tongan Governments to
determine their needs and how best these can be met, including discussions on
longer-term recovery and reconstruction requirements.
Cook Islands
The New Zealand Government has contributed NZ$350,000 to the relief effort in the
Cook Islands, including a NZ$100,000 contribution to the Red Cross, along with relief
supplies.
Following a request for assistance, a New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) C-130
Hercules was deployed to the Cook Islands with relief supplies and 12 NZDF personnel
with a wide range of skills (including electricians, a builder, heavy plant operators, and a
plumber). The C-130 Hercules ferried supplies from Rarotonga to Aitutaki for two days.
NZDF personnel stayed in Aitutaki to complete relief tasks including erecting temporary
shelters for those who lost homes, fixing and certifying electricity to homes, repairing
damaged water mains, and repairing local schools to ensure children can return to
classrooms.
A C-130 Hercules returned to the Cook Islands on 26 February to make a relief flight to
the Penrhyn Islands, and replenish emergency stocks on Rarotonga used in the
response to Cyclone Pat. The C-130 delivered New Zealand Government and Red Cross
supplies to the island on 27 February local tradespeople from Rarotonga up to Penrhyn
to help with reconstruction efforts, and Cook Island Government officials to advise on
education and infrastructure.
The Hercules picked up the NZDF team and their equipment from Aitutaki on Monday 1
March to return to New Zealand.
Tonga
New Zealand is committed to helping Tonga recover from Cyclone Rene. Chainsaws
were gifted to Tonga’s Defence Service to assist with debris clearance. Further
assistance will be determined once damage assessments from the outer islands have
been fully completed and considered by the Tongan Government.
For more information about New Zealand's response to the cyclones email
communications@nzaid.govt.nz
.
Support for small scale Papua New Guinean farmers on the way
Small scale farmers in Papua New Guinea (PNG) are set to receive a helping hand
through the Smallholder Support Services Expansion Project.
On 17 February 2010, the Government of PNG and the NZAID programme signed a
NZ$2.5 million dollar agreement that aims to improve the quality of life for smallholder
farmers and their families by increasing their access to agriculture support services and
technical assistance through the National Department of Agriculture and Livestock.
Over 80 percent of PNG’s population live in rural areas and rely on agriculture for their
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Dr Michel Kazatchkine
speaks at a press
conference for the
Global Fund to Fight
AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria. Photo - UN
Photo/Devra Berkowitz
provide accommodation for Royal
Solomon Islands Police officers and their
families in Guadalcanal and Western
Provinces. The RAMSI (the Regional
Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands)
project will see 34 houses funded
through the NZAID programme; with an
additional 50 houses funded by Australia.
Solomon Islands Minister for Police,
James Tora, welcomed the request for
tenders as a key stage in addressing the
stability and security issues in Solomon
Islands. "Providing safe, comfortable
housing is an important part of
recognising the hard work of the men
and women of the Royal Solomon
Islands Police Force. These new houses
are critical to helping to establish policing
as a leading, long-term career option in
Solomon Islands," said Mr Tora.
The construction project is anticipated to
be a major local employer, and will
provide a significant boost to the
Solomon Islands economy as materials,
where possible, will be procured locally.
For more information about the project
contact
Matthew Howell
.
Now accepting applications for the
International Development
Research Fund!
The NZAID programme is now accepting
applications for the International
Development Research Fund (IDRF) to
carry out and disseminate research that
is likely to improve development policy
and practice.
The fund is open to New Zealand based
researchers to carry out research in
partnership with researchers from
developing countries. Research
supported by the fund will focus on
advancing development policy and
practice in regions, countries and sectors
aligned to New Zealand official
development assistance priorities, and is
likely to be of relevance and interest to
both the New Zealand development
community and the region, country or
development sector that is the focus of
the research.
This year the NZAID programme is
particularly encouraging proposals
detailing research that focuses on
sustainable economic development.
However, other proposals will also be
considered.
The deadline for applications is 1.00pm
(NZT), Friday 14 May 2010.
For more information and to download
the application guidelines visit the NZAID
programme’s
website
.
Subscribe to receive your free
issue of Currents magazine now!
Published six times a year, Currents
magazine is an interesting and
informative way to find out more about
how New Zealand is working to support
development and respond to
humanitarian crises in our region, and
further afield.
To receive a free copy of the magazine
please contact
Nadine Koszler
with your
mailing details or visit NZAID’s
website
to download a copy.
The next issue of Currents, available
now, has a tourism focus and includes
articles on NZAID programme-supported
tourism initiatives in the Pacific,
Afghanistan and the Greater Mekong
Sub-region, a story covering White
Ribbon Day in the Pacific, and profiles
the ongoing New Zealand response to
the devastating September 2009
earthquake in West Sumatra, Indonesia.
livelihoods. A large number of these people are small farmers whose access to technical
knowledge is limited. This makes it difficult for them to improve their agricultural practices
and successfully engage in markets, which impacts on their overall income.
The assistance that the Smallholder Support Services Expansion Project provides to
these farmers aims to address this issue. Groups of approximately 20 farmers identify
priority needs and then come together to receive support from a local expert. A wide
range of technical skills are covered, ranging from improvements to growing techniques,
bookkeeping skills, food processing, and cooking and nutrition.
The Expansion Project builds on a pilot project in Eastern Highlands and Morobe
Provinces. The original project benefitted over 16,000 households, mostly through
employment opportunities and generating higher household incomes.
New Zealand’s funding will supplement that provided by the Government of PNG and
help extend the programme to Central and Simbu provinces, institutionalise the project’s
processes and systems, and support involvement by women in the scheme.
“Strengthening and expanding the project will ensure that it continues in the years to
come and reaches more people in PNG,” New Zealand’s High Commissioner to PNG
Niels Holm said.
In addition to supporting the Smallholder Support Services Expansion Project, the NZAID
programme supports a number of other economic development initiatives that focus on
the rural population. For more information about the NZAID programme in PNG contact
Caroline Newson.
The global fight against disease
It is shockingly recent that AIDS treatment in most developing
countries was non-existent. In 2001, international economic,
political and social barriers left millions of people in poor
countries excluded from the treatments that had been widely
available in developed countries for years.
This situation was one of the catalysts for the formation in
2002 of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria, a unique private-public funding agency based around
inclusiveness. The Global Fund has become the primary
funder for the treatment of these diseases in the developing
world and to date has committed US$19 billion in 144 low
income countries and mid-income countries that have a high
burden of disease.
On 23 February Dr Michel Kazatchkine, the director of the
Global Fund, was in New Zealand as part of a visit to several
countries to raise consciousness about the Global Fund and
encourage ongoing donor support.
His arguments were compelling. It is calculated that since the
Global Fund’s inception, funding on AIDS, tuberculosis and
malaria initiatives has allowed for 5 million lives to be saved,
and about 3,600 lives per day.
One of the key points Dr Kazatchkine makes is that this success is not ‘owned’ by the
Global Fund, but by the countries themselves. They apply to the Global Fund for funding
for specific objectives, and ongoing funds are disbursed only when objectives are met.
This performance-based transparency has been key to the fund’s ongoing success, as it
maintains accountability to both the affected communities and to donors, who can track
where money is going.
For more information about the Global Fund, visit
http://www.theglobalfund.org
Wellington rugby players receive thanks for helping to tackle domestic
violence
Wellington rugby player Victor Vito accepted a certificate of appreciation from the
Commissioner of Police, Howard Broad, in early February on behalf of players from the
Wellington Rugby Football Union. The players have been praised for their participation in
a NZAID programme-supported domestic violence campaign during a visit to Samoa last
year.
While in Samoa in November, 10 members of the Wellington Hurricanes and Lions
teams lent a hand to support the Pacific Prevention of Domestic Violence Programme
(PPDVP), taking the message "Break the Silence, End the Violence" into villages and
schools throughout the country.
The PPDVP is funded through the NZAID programme and run by New Zealand Police
and the Pacific Island Chiefs of Police. Its aim is to contribute to a safer Pacific, free of
domestic violence. This will be achieved through increased police capacity in the Pacific
to prevent and deal with domestic violence, and strengthened legislative and policy
environments to effectively respond to domestic violence at both national and regional
levels.
Programme manager for the PPDVP, Cam Ronald said the collaboration with Wellington
rugby was a first for the PPDVP and the players made a huge impact wherever they
went.
"These young men are role-models both here and in the Pacific and it was a fantastic
opportunity for us to have them supporting the domestic violence message while in
Samoa," said Mr Ronald. “Most of the 10 players who went to Samoa have very close
ties with the country, having either been born there or having family there. They are
hugely respected by the people in Samoa, especially young men and boys, who are a
key audience for the anti-domestic violence message.”
The players also made a series of three anti-domestic violence advertisements while
