HEALTH Development cooperation fact

sheet: October 2019

The Foreign Policy White Paper recognises good health and strong and resili-ent health systems are im-portant to support product-ive societies and economic growth, and that global co-operation is essential to guard against global health risks.

Strategic direction Health investments save lives, underpin economic growth and prosperity, and pro-tect Australia and the region against the risk of cross-border disease threats. The Health for Development Strategy 2015-2020 covers investments in health, water, sanitation and hygiene, and basic nutrition —areas that are crucial to improving popu-lation health outcomes.

The Strategy’s main geographic focus is Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with priority investments in: core public health systems and capa-

cities in key partner countries; combatting health threats that cross

national borders; a more effective global health re-

sponse; access to clean water, sanitation, hy-

giene and good nutrition as pre-condi-tions for good health; and

innovative health approaches and solutions that benefit our region.

Australia’s development cooperation in the health sector contributes towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 which aims to ‘ensure healthy lives and to promote well-being for all at all ages’. Our support will also help improve access to good nutrition (SDG 2) and to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (SDG 6) as well as being a significant basis for achievement of many other SDGs.

Sector Performance During 2017, the Global Fund to Fight

AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria

@DFATODA = Official Development Assistance Page 1 of 2 DFAT.GOV.AU

InnovationDFAT is supporting Tupaia, a data aggregation, analysis and visualisation platform that maps health systems in six Pacific countries, assisting governments in our region to efficiently distribute health resources, respond to dis-asters more effectively and strengthen health services.

Gender equality The Civil Society Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Fund reported that 84 per cent WASH committees had women in technical or management roles, significantly exceeding the program target. In addition, women and girls have been empowered to make decisions, run sanit-ation enterprises, manage water systems and deliver bet-ter access to WASH for themselves and their communit-

59%20%

11%5%3% 1%1%

Australian Health ODA, by Partner Type 2017-18

Multilateral OrganisationsCommercial SuppliersNon-Government OrganisationsOther PartnersDeveloping Country Gov-ernmentsUniversities and Academic Insti-tutionsAustralian Public Sector Organ-isations

Australian ODA 2017-18 Actual ($m)*

2018-19 Estimated Outcome ($m)*

2019-2020 Budget Estimate ($m)*

Pacific 163.5 198.5 211.9

South East and East Asia

85.6 65.8 64.1

South and West Asia 37.4 30.5 22.2

Africa & the Middle East

9.8 9.3 7.0

Rest of the World** 249.6 255.0 240.6

Total Australian Health ODA

545.9 559.1 545.8

*Due to rounding, discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items and totals.**Includes ODA that is not attributed to particular countries or re-gions. Note: All outcome and budget figures include scholarships.

programs tested and treated 5 million people for TB, distributed 197 million insecticide-treated bed nets to prevent malaria, and supported 17.5 million people access antiretroviral treatment for HIV.

New grants were awarded to four Product

Development Partnerships to improve access to new drugs, diagnostics and technologies in low and middle income countries for tuberculosis, malaria, and other mosquito-borne diseases, including Tafenoquine - the first new treatment to prevent malaria relapse in over 60 years.

Between 2016 and 2018, Australian assistance enabled more than 300 health workers, scientists, and researchers across PNG to undertake training, study exchanges, workshops, and supervisory visits at PNG, Chinese and Australian laboratory and research institutions, resulting in skills and knowledge transfer, malaria laboratory systems strengthening, diagnosis and treatment capability.

DFAT supported the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons to provide 35 Visiting Medical Teams to nine Pacific countries, conducting 1774 medical consultations and 564 operations; and training 375 health professionals.

In 2018, the International Planned Parenthood Federation’s Member Associations in the Pacific (excluding PNG) reached an estimated 100,000 clients with roughly 270,000 sexual and reproductive health services.

In 2017, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance supported the vaccination of 65 million children, and through market shaping efforts delivered a 12 per cent reduction (from 2016) in the cost of fully immunising a child with pentavalent, pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines.

Australia’s contribution through a targeted Australia Awards Fellowships (Health Security) round, and support to the first Malaria World Congress, will build institutional capacity in Greater Mekong Sub-region countries, and foster productive networks to progress malaria

elimination in the Indo-Pacific by 2030. Current Priorities Preparing for emerging and re-emerging

health security threats in our region through implementation of the Health Security Initiative for the Indo-Pacific Region – supporting partnerships, research, and workforce development.

Strengthening health systems, with Australia’s largest bilateral country health investments in PNG, the Solomon Islands, Cambodia and Timor-Leste.

Supporting global public-private partnerships, multilateral agencies and international NGOs to extend the reach of our development cooperation program, including through contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Population Fund.

For more details:Health for Development Strategy 2015-2020

Health Investment Performance, 2017-18

ODA = Official Development Assistance Page 2 of 2

Australia-China-Papua New Guinea Pilot Cooperation on Malaria Control Project: Francis Lelngei, a medical scientist from Papua New Guinea’s Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL), and Associate Professor Li Jin, from the Shandong Institute of Parasitic Diseases, have successfully established a highly sensitive diagnostic technique for the

ODA = Official Development Assistance Page 2 of 2