Our Issues
MORE AND BETTER AID to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals
Achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals and halving extreme poverty by 2015 requires commitment from developing and developed nations. There has been progress made, but with less than four years to go, there is still much work to be done. The UN recommends developed countries like Australia allocate 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) towards overseas aid by 2015.
Australia’s current aid level of 0.35% GNI currently ranks us 16th amongst the 23 wealthy donor countries. In recent years there has been bipartisan support to increase our aid to 0.5% by 2015 and this commitment must be maintained as a minimum.
RESULTS has repeatedly called for our aid program to increase its focus on effective measures to target the most in need and through the most effective means.
Such things as microfinance, increasing focus on basic education and basic health (especially child immunisation, AIDS, TB and Malaria).
TUBERCULOSIS, AIDS and MALARIA – the fight against the diseases of poverty.
Over 6 million people (most of them poor) die from AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria each year despite all of these diseases being preventable and in the case of TB and malaria, totally curable.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria which was established in 2002 has already made a significant impact. It has approved over US $19 billion worth of proposals and is saving the lives of 3,600 people every day!
The Australian Government has increased its support for the Global Fund over recent years. In late 2010, a three year and $210 million commitment was made representing a 55% increase, but less than HALF Australia’s fair share of what is required to halt and reverse the spread of these diseases by 2015.
Current Campaigns: 2011 World TB Day
MICROFINANCE – the need to build this sector of the aid program
Microfinance provides the poor with access to financial services which are not normally available to them through the mainstream banking system due to their poverty, illiteracy or because they live in remote areas. Microfinance can include small loans, safe savings services, insurances an money transfer services.
Microfinance has proven a powerful tool to help the world’s poorest people to lift themselves out of poverty, and improve their entire family’s nutrition, education and housing.
RESULTS has long advocated an increasing role in the aid program for well targeted microfinance. The 2010 release of AusAID’s first strategy in this area has therefore been welcomed as has a commitment to double funding to microfinance to $20 million by 2012 -13. However, RESULTS recommends these increases go further with more targeting to the poorest people.
