Australia’s International Development Assistance Program 2013-14 Philippines
17 May 2013
In 2013-14, the Australian Government will provide an estimated Php5.7 billion (A$141 million) in official development assistance to the Philippines.
“Australia remains strongly committed to helping the Philippines to overcome poverty, as demonstrated by the increase in funding of A$12 million from last year,” said Australian Ambassador to the Philippines, Bill Tweddell.
This is part of the Government’s overall commitment to increase the size of the Australian aid program to A$5.7 billion, up from A$5.2 billion in 2012-13. This will increase Australia’s Official Development Assistance to 0.37 per cent of its Gross National Income.
Australia remains committed to increasing its ODA to 0.5% of GNI; however the Government has decided to defer this scale-up by one year to 2017-18.
“Australia places high importance on delivering real results to help improve the lives of the poorest Filipinos. Managed by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), Australia’s aid program in the Philippines is focused on strengthening basic services for the poor and reducing vulnerabilities arising from climate change and conflict,” Ambassador Tweddell said.
“Australia will support the largest and most significant reform in the Philippines education system in more than 20 years — introduction of a Kindergarten to Year 12 education program, which President Benigno Aquino III recently signed into law. Australian assistance will train teachers and decision-makers, provide advice on curriculum development and help develop information technology systems.”
Australia is providing support the Philippines Government’s Public-Private Partnerships reform agenda by investing in infrastructure development, including in classroom construction, health services and transport. Investment in these areas is critical to fostering sustainable economic growth in the Philippines.
Australia will also continue to work with the Philippines Government to deliver an innovative program that uses provincial road maintenance funding as an incentive for local governance reforms. Australia is also assisting the Philippine Government to automate its public financial management system to improve the efficiency and transparency of public spending.
“Australia has made a substantial contribution to peace in Mindanao through our aid program. We will continue to support the peace process in Mindanao by introducing education for youth in remote communities and providing new opportunities for youth formerly involved with armed groups,” Ambassador Tweddell said.
“With our Philippine partners, Australia will work to make Filipinos safer and more resilient to the threats from natural disasters and the changing climate, which drive people into poverty and threaten sustainable economic development.”
The 2013-14 Budget continues to implement the Government’s Comprehensive Aid Policy Framework (CAPF). The CAPF enables the Australian Government to work together with the Philippine Government to better plan and implement aid investments more effectively, delivering better results for the Filipinos.
The 2011-12 Annual Review of Aid Effectiveness, which was released in January, demonstrated that Australian aid is effective and represents value for money. It also showed that Australia is making real progress towards the targets announced in the 2012-13 budget.