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.

	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/

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

	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

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

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