Australia Yearbook - 2001

106 Year Book Australia 2001
resources and coordinate large-scale responses,
complementing the inputs of individual
countries.
Australia supports a range of development banks,
United Nations and Commonwealth development
agencies and international health and
environment agencies as set out in table 3.6.
Australia and other donors have a strong interest
in ensuring that multilateral agencies are
effective, efficient and adequately resourced.
Equitable burden sharing among donors is
important.
Emergency and humanitarian programs
In partnership with multilateral agencies,
recipient governments and non-government
organisations, Australia aims to deliver prompt,
effective and coordinated humanitarian and
emergency assistance to those exposed to human
suffering and material destruction as a result of
disasters and emergencies. Emergency and
humanitarian aid provides flexibility for the
Government to respond to these unexpected
and pressing crises, and also to contribute to
protracted relief operations.
Emergency assistance
Australia stands ready to respond to natural
disasters, such as earthquakes, cyclones, and
floods. In addition to rapid response to
emergencies, this involves reducing vulnerability,
promoting solutions to root causes and
facilitating the smooth transition from relief to
rehabilitation and development. Australia will
continue to focus on those in most need, with
a particular emphasis on countries in the
Asia-Pacific region.
The scale and nature of these crises around the
world makes it impossible to respond in every
case. The need for external support in the wake
of the ethnic unrest in the Solomon Islands and
the crisis in East Timor clearly highlight the
importance of Australia’s emergency assistance
in the Asia-Pacific region. Indonesia has started to
recover from the economic crisis, but a number
of serious humanitarian situations continue to
require Australian assistance.
3.6 GLOBAL PROGRAMS(a)—2000–01(b)
Contribution to multilateral organisation/global
program $m
Multilateral development banks
International Development Association
(IDA) 113.4
Asian Development Fund (ADF) 120.2
International Fund for Agricultural
Development 1.5
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative
(HIPC) 11.5
Total 246.6
United Nations organisations
UN Development Programme (UNDP) 7.0
UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) 4.8
World Food Programme (WFP) 43.7
UN Population Fund (UNFPA) 2.2
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 1.5
UN Drug Control Program (UNDCP) 0.8
UN Environment Program (UNEP) 0.6
UN Fund for Women (UNIFEM) 0.4
Total 61.8
Emergency and humanitarian programs 108.2
Commonwealth organisations 10.6
International health programs 11.1
International environment programs 10.9
Non-government organisations and volunteer
programs 44.1
Development education and public
information 3.0
Academic and research program 1.3
Total global programs 497.5
(a) Including core contributions to multilateral organisations.
(b) Estimates.
Source: AusAID.
Other humanitarian aid
Support for refugees, internally displaced people
and other vulnerable groups will continue
through contributions to the UN system
(particularly the UN High Commission for
Refugees and World Food Programme), the
International Committee of the Red Cross and
NGOs. This will include support for land mine
action programs, health services, water supplies,
sanitation and resettlement assistance and human
rights monitoring. Opportunities for peace
building will also be supported.
The emergency and humanitarian program will
fund around 130,000 tonnes of food aid in
response to emergency and protracted relief
operations. This food aid will assist the most
vulnerable communities and will be channelled
primarily through the World Food Programme to
meet ongoing humanitarian relief activities in
such countries as the Democratic Peoples
Republic of Korea, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This humanitarian
food aid will assist in meeting approximately half
of Australia’s obligations under the Food Aid
Convention (FAC) for 2000–01.