New Zealand shows commitment to the world’s women

A torch presented by Royal Danish Consul-General, Kenneth Fink-Jensen ...

Managing water in Vanuatu

At the beginning of August, the Vanuatu Government launched its first ...

Building a safe and peaceful Samoa

The Samoan Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration has recently ...

NZ contributes to understanding of avian influenza in Viet Nam

Interim results from NZAID-supported research are contributing to bett...

Managing natural resources and livelihoods in Cambodia

APSARA National Authority (Authority for the Protection and Management...

Tongan high school reconstructed

NZAID has committed NZ$2.3 million to the reconstruction of Tonga’s Niuatoputapu High School, which in the remote northern island group of the Niuas, was destroyed by Cyclone Waka in 2002.

In response to a request for assistance from the Government of Tonga, the contribution will go towards refurbishing existing school buildings, constructing a new school hall, industrial arts classroom, staff housing, water and electrical supply, and levelling a sports field.

While initial work on classrooms and staff housing construction ended in 2004, this additional funding reflects New Zealand’s commitment to the development of a teaching and learning environment that meets the needs of the Niuatoputapu community.

The construction phase is scheduled to take one year, and will be carried out by a local construction company. For more information contact angela.wilton@nzaid.govt.nz

Marking World Water Week

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has stressed the importance of sanitation and hygiene in schools as events are held around the globe to mark World Water Week, which ran from 17th to 23rd August.

Over 170 organisations met in Stockholm, Sweden, to discuss issues surrounding this year’s theme for the Week, “Progress and Prospects on Water: For a Clean and Healthy World.”

UNICEF convened two seminars - one on the impact of hygiene interventions for children, and the other on the necessity of clean water in schools. Over 5,000 children under the age of five die every day due to diarrhoeal diseases, resulting in part from unsafe water and lack of access to basic sanitation facilities, according to the agency.

UNICEF stressed that simple behavioural changes, such as using soap when washing hands, can slash mortality rates related to diarrhoea by half. The lack of proper sanitation facilities in schools also has an effect on education, with less girls attending once they hit puberty, the agency said. For more information visit www.unicef.org

Design underway for tourism support programme in Lao

NZAID is working in partnership with the Lao National Tourism Administration to establish a sustainable five-year National Tourism Strategy Implementation Support Programme in four pilot provinces of Luang Namtha, Xieng Khouang, Bolikhamxay and Khammuan. The aim of the strategy is to use tourism as a tool to help with the country's socio-economic development.

The focus will be on women, rural, and ethnic minority populations, while also ensuring that cultural heritage and the environment are protected.

Lao National Tourism Authority, Tourism Departments and Tourism Offices in the four provinces are all actively involved in the design mission, and it will include lessons learnt from the Nam Ha Eco-Tourism Project which was successfully completed in July this year.

The design mission is expected to be completed by the end of October this year and the programme itself will begin in March 2009.

For more information contact lynn.desilva@mfat.govt.nz

NewZAID No. 49 | August 2008

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.

New Zealand shows commitment to the world’s women

: Royal Danish Consul-General, Kenneth Fink-Jensen hands over the torch to Women’s Affairs Minister Steve Chadwick.

A torch presented by Royal Danish Consul-General, Kenneth Fink-Jensen was accepted by Women’s Affairs Minister Steve Chadwick on behalf of the Government at Parliament on 20 August, symbolising New Zealand’s renewed commitment to strive for the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women.

The ceremony formed part of the Global Call to Action on MDG3 (Millennium Development Goal 3), a Danish-led initiative whereby torch recipients become 'MDG3 Champions' and commit themselves and the organisations they represent to ‘doing something extra’ for the achievement of MDG3. One of eight United Nations’ goals agreed to by all the world’s countries and leading development institutions, MDG3 seeks to promote gender equality and empower women at all levels. Over 100 MDG3 torches are travelling the world and have been accepted by representatives of governments, civil society organisations, multilateral agencies and the private sector.

Advancing women’s rights is directly linked to economic growth, sustainable development, good governance, and peace. Women are the backbone of families, villages, communities, and nations. Yet globally, they are much more likely than men to be poor, malnourished, illiterate, and denied access to basic health services.

NZAID is increasing its annual contribution to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) by $500,000 this year and next. The NZAID contribution to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will also increase from $4.5 million to $6 million in the coming year. NZAID also supports a range of initiatives in the Pacific including improving sexual and reproductive health services and a programme to improve the quality of nursing – the majority of whom are women.

World leaders will come together in New York in September to renew their commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and to set out concrete plans and practical steps for action. At this meeting the United Nations’ Secretary-General will be invited to accept the last MDG3 torch.

For NZAID, joining this campaign provides additional momentum to ensure that all programmes proactively implement gender mainstreaming and gender-specific support in-line with existing agency policy. For more information contact samantha.hung@nzaid.govt.nz or visit www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

Managing water in Vanuatu

At the beginning of August, the Vanuatu Government launched its first ever National Water Strategy covering a 10-year period to 2018.

This is a big step towards providing a national framework for managing a valuable resource and ensuring that every Ni-Vanuatu citizen has access to safe water sufficient to meet basic needs, including drinking, cooking and sanitation.

The strategy proposes a major change in the role of the Department of Geology, Mines and Water Resources (DGMWR) from service provider to key facilitator of a new integrated water resource management approach. This means it will work together with communities, private sector and local government to ensure a holistic, integrated, coordinated approach to managing and monitoring water catchments.

NZAID is currently supporting the development of a multi-year implementation plan for the strategy which will help the DGMWR improve access to water for many of Vanuatu’s poor rural communities in the coming years. For more information contact james.toa@mfat.govt.nz or leonard.chan@nzaid.govt.nz

Building a safe and peaceful Samoa

: Masinalupe Tusipa Masinalupe, Chief Executive of Samoan Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration gives his speech during the launch.

The Samoan Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration has recently launched the final of a range of initiatives to provide quality law and justice services for a safe and peaceful Samoa.

Together with the National University of Samoa, the Ministry has developed a training programme designed specifically for their staff that is both practical and applicable to their work environment. Carried out in Samoan and English, the programme builds on the management skills of both middle and senior managers across the Ministry.

It covers areas such as strategic planning, people and task management, policy development and customer focus. The training programme provides participants with the opportunity to gain or upgrade their qualifications, which is particularly important for those with vast work experience but no formal tertiary qualification.

Funded through an NZAID Institutional Strengthening Programme, 35 managers and senior officials will benefit from the course. For more information contact christine.saaga@nzaid.govt.nz

NZ contributes to understanding of avian influenza in Viet Nam

Interim results from NZAID-supported research are contributing to better understanding about avian influenza in Viet Nam.

Undertaken by Phan Quang Minh, a Vietnamese animal health worker doing a PhD at Massey University, and Dr Birgit Schauer, Technical Manager on the NZAID-funded avian influenza programme, the research investigated the association between human cases of avian flu and poultry outbreaks in Viet Nam from 2003-2007. It also looked at the characteristics of households that kept certain types of ducks in the Mekong Delta. Further studies will be undertaken in Bac Lieu and Can Tho provinces between October 2008 and March 2010.

NZAID has allocated US$1.5 million to develop skills and technical information to support the management and control of avian influenza in Viet Nam. The project is training animal health workers and aims to develop a model to support decisions about controlling avian influenza in Viet Nam.

For more information contact john.egan@nzaid.govt.nz. For copies of the Researchers’ presentation Avian Influenza Research to Policy International Workshop visit the Vietnamese government's Department of Animal Health website www.dah.gov.vn

Managing natural resources and livelihoods in Cambodia

APSARA National Authority (Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap) has started implementing the Angkor Participatory Natural Resource Management and Livelihood Programme after the successful development of a management plan and programme design.

Assisted by NZAID since 2006, APSARA National Authority has developed the programme to reduce poverty among the Angkor park communities in Siem Reap by creating more livelihood opportunities for local people and by helping them to better manage their natural resources and to put in place strategies to protect their park.

As part of this process, the Management Plan was developed in early 2007 and between August 2007 and May 2008 a detailed Programme Design and Implementation Document was developed.

The overarching goal of the programme is poverty reduction within Angkor Park in Siem Reap. The programme aims to increase livelihood opportunities for the Park communities through sustainable management of natural resources and protection of the Park.

Implementation of the design will start in October/November 2008. For more information contact lynn.desilva@mfat.govt.nz

NZAID
email: communications@nzaid.govt.nz
website: www.nzaid.govt.nz

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