NewZAID updates you in brief on key issues and events on the NZAID agenda. Please click on the useful links included in this newsletter to explore issues in greater depth.

NZAID has contributed $850,000 to the International Federation of the Red Cross to assist victims of the 7.9 magnitude Sichuan earthquake, which struck on 12 May, leaving over 65,080 dead, 360,058 injured, 23,150 missing and 11.36 million homeless.

“It is important New Zealand does what it can to assist China to make the most effective response possible to this crisis,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.

By utilising Red Cross channels, New Zealand is able to get its assistance to those most in need as quickly as possible, providing essential basic humanitarian supplies such as shelter, water and food.

In Mianyang and Deyang, the Red Cross Society of China and the International Red Cross Movement are planning to set up a field hospital and temporary schools, which could last for 6 to 12 months to meet the needs of the local community.

For more information contact ruth.hubscher@nzaid.govt.nz

New Zealand has contributed $1 million to the UNICEF efforts to help Myanmar recover from the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis, which left 134,000 dead or missing and 2.4 million destitute. It is estimated that 40% of those affected are children.

NZAID’s contribution to UNICEF will focus on caring for the injured, preventing the spread of disease and ensuring children have access to clean water and food. Despite the access difficulties due to international aid workers being refused entry visas, UNICEF has been able to mobilise on the ground and to coordinate quickly to help the young victims of this disaster. Their priority is getting children back to school, which it sees as a key step in helping them recover from the event and boost their quality of life.

According to United Nations experts, three weeks after the cyclone struck, three out of four of those most in need have yet to receive assistance. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Myanmar's leader, Senior General Than Shwe, and it was agreed that international aid workers, regardless of their nationality, would be allowed into the hardest-hit areas.

Ban Ki-moon appealed for donations to assist victims of Myanmar's deadly Cyclone Nargis, saying that the relief effort will last at least six months.

 “I am encouraged by my discussions with Myanmar's leadership. They have agreed on the need to act urgently,” the Secretary-General said at the pledging conference. “I hope – and believe – that any hesitation the Government of Myanmar may have had about allowing international humanitarian groups to operate freely in the affected areas is now a thing of the past.”

NZAID also provided $850,000 to New Zealand NGO’s to assist with the disaster response and continues to monitor the situation.

For more information contact ruth.hubscher@nzaid.govt.nz

Six women from around the Pacific region have been awarded scholarships funded by NZAID to attend a prestigious leadership programme at Harvard University.

Dominica Abo and Barbara Toiya from Papua New Guinea, Palanitina Tupuimatagi Toelupe and Laeimau Oketevi Tanuvasa-Savea from Samoa, and Ethel Sigimanu and Jennifer Wate from Solomon Islands will attend the Leaders in Development: Managing Political and Economic Change programme at the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in June 2008.

The scholarships form part of the New Zealand Prime Minister and Council of Women Leaders Joint Fellowship for Emerging Pacific Women leaders.

The women come from a variety of backgrounds ranging from work in NGOs such as Anglicare StopAIDs in Papua New Guinea, to roles in the private sector such as Computer Services Ltd in Samoa, to positions in their home country governments such as the Ministry of Women, Youth and Children’s Affairs in Solomon Islands and the Ministry of Health in Samoa.

The successful applicants are recognised leaders and play an important role in their own communities. For example, PNG’s Barbara Toiya, programme manger for the Voluntary Service Overseas in Madang Province, is the first woman in her tribal group (kulkane) in Sumbu Province to be given the ceremonial spear that signifies paramount chieftaincy. This honour was given to recognise her work in promoting the status of women and advocating for community services over some years.

The course offers these women the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and bring the benefits home.

For more information contact chris.day@nzaid.govt.nz

In May 2008 NZAID became a donor-partner to the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Better Factories Cambodia initiative. The project is an example of how improved labour practices and greater competitiveness can significantly change lives for poor workers.  So far positive impacts have been felt by over 340,000 people employed in around 300 factories in Cambodia, and momentum on the project is still growing.

Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) combines monitoring to ensure employers' compliance with labour standards, mediation when disputes arise and training to improve workers' skills. It also provides a guarantee to international buyers of healthy labour standards, a key factor in their decision to source garments from Cambodian factories. 

Overall, the project aims to benefit workers, employers and their organisations, and contributes to reducing poverty in one of the poorest nations of the world. NZAID is particularly proud to partner with this project, given its strong focus on gender, and improving the situation of women garment workers.

Based on the positive results of Better Factories Cambodia, Better Work, a joint ILO-International Finance Corporation initiative is now developing global tools and piloting three country projects, in Jordan, Lesotho and Viet Nam with the assent of workers’ and employers’ organisations.

For more information contact lucy.cassels@nzaid.govt.nz