NZAID

FAQs | NZAID's work

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FAQs on this page are about understanding international development and aid, the role of NZAID, how NZAID's priorities and processes.


What is sustainable development?

Sustainable development is about working with partner countries to help them meet communities' social, economic and environmental needs today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is about giving greater priority to development that has self-sustaining measurable benefits.

What is sustainable economic development?

Sustainable economic development is a core focus for NZAID. This recognises that reducing poverty is inherently linked to economic growth and trade and vice versa.

Economic development is supported by, and in turn supports, other aspects of development. This means that NZAID delivers programmes with social development outcomes such as good governance, health and education.

Focusing New Zealand's aid on sustainable economic development will in the long-term allow developing countries to fund their own social services (for example: health and education services) and further development activities. To do this donor countries need to encourage economic growth, trade and the development of the private sector; this will have flow on effects for the economic and social stability of the country.

In delivering New Zealand 's ODA programme, NZAID also pursues cross-cutting and thematic issues (including gender, the environment and human rights) as a means to ensure good development outcomes and to manage risks.

What is poverty?

Poverty is "a condition characterised by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information" (Copenhagen Declaration 2002).

NZAID recognises three types of poverty:

  • absolute extreme poverty - an inability to meet basic needs
  • poverty of opportunity - where opportunities to participate in economic, social, civil and political life are seriously limited
  • vulnerability to poverty - where individuals, communities and countries are particularly vulnerable to circumstances likely to damage their livelihoods, ability to meet basic needs and ability to participate actively in economic, social, civil and political life.

In money terms, the World Bank identifies "extreme poverty" as being people who live on less than US$1 a day and "poverty" as less than US$2 a day. There are currently more than 1.1 billion people living in extreme poverty, a disproportionate number of whom are the elderly and women and children.

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Why do some countries need support for their development?

Countries need international assistance to support their development for many reasons, including:

  • lack of infrastructure - people need reliable transport networks or shipping services, so they can move about and transport goods to markets easily
  • lack of natural resources - sometimes the soil is not fertile enough or there is too little rainfall to reliably grow crops
  • health and education challenges - many poor countries face major challenges in providing basic health care and education opportunities to the people of their nation
  • war and conflict - war takes a tremendous toll on a country's economy, social services and infrastructure. It can take a very long time to recover from the effects of conflict
  • poor governance - sometimes governments hinder development by implementing flawed policies or not doing enough to prevent corrupt activities
  • limited capacity - sometimes countries do not have people in government and public services with the right skills to provide the necessary expertise, especially when countries have gone through a period of change, for example emerging from a conflict. It takes time to develop the range of skills and institutions needed to run a country, and for people to be empowered to help exercise accountability over the government and public service
  • vulnerability - some countries are susceptible to natural disasters, and their governments and infrastructure are not able to cope and respond without outside assistance and support
  • geographical isolation - significant distance to trading partners and volatile and expensive access to aviation routes can be barriers to development for some countries, especially those in the Pacific.

Why do we give money overseas when many poor people live in New Zealand?

Poor people do live in New Zealand, and the Government has a range of programmes and activities to assist those who are in need here.

New Zealand is a much richer country than the countries we help through our aid programmes. This is reflected by our average income per person, which at US$25,960 in 2006, was, for example, many times higher than Fiji (at US$3,280) or Papua New Guinea (at US$660).

New Zealand 's aid programme is about New Zealand being a good international citizen and helping people who live in extreme poverty towards a better life.

New Zealanders feel positively about helping those in need. An opinion poll that NZAID conducts every three years suggests that over 70 percent of those surveyed support the Government giving aid.

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Why does NZAID focus on the Pacific region when the people there are better off than many other people in the world?

Pockets of major poverty and hardship exist in the Pacific. Papua New Guinea , Solomon Islands and Vanuatu have the highest levels of poverty in the Pacific, and together account for over 80 percent of the region's population.

Human development indicators put the Pacific region on a par with parts of Africa.

Relative to New Zealand , many people in the Pacific still face major challenges. For example, the risk of a mother dying in childbirth is 10 times higher in Fiji (75/100,000), and over 40 times higher (300/100,000) in Papua New Guinea, than New Zealand. New Zealand 's aid programme is working to reduce these statistics.

In other parts of the Pacific different challenges are evident. Most countries are very small, have limited resources and infrastructure and are vulnerable to natural disasters such as tsunamis and cyclones.

New Zealand also has legal obligations to Niue, Cook Islands and Tokelau and special ties with a number of other Pacific nations. Our knowledge of the region means we are well placed to play a significant role in its future development.

For more information about how NZAID works within the Pacific region see the Pacific Regional pages on the website.

Why doesn't New Zealand do more for Africa?

With so many countries around the world needing assistance New Zealand has had to decide priorities for its ODA. NZAID has a budget of $7 million for its Southern Africa programme, but New Zealand's aid programme focuses more on the Pacific, because that is the region where it can deliver the most effective development assistance. The New Zealand Government, through NZAID, also provides considerable amounts of assistance to Africa through support for multilateral agencies (such as the World Bank), United Nations agencies, and through a humanitarian relief programme.

For more information about NZAID's Southern Africa programme click here.

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Why does New Zealand give aid to countries without the sort of democracy we have?

One of NZAID's goals is to encourage and help developing countries to promote good governance. This has to be based around participation, accountability and transparency.

Sometimes New Zealand might not agree with everything another country's government does, or we might not recognise a government at all. There is a range of ways that NZAID can operate in such circumstances.

For example: Tonga is unique in the Pacific as it is the only country with a constitutional monarchy. Tonga is now undergoing a historic and fundamental change from an executive monarchy to a modern parliamentary democracy. In December 2008, New Zealand committed $1.5 million to supporting the democratic reform process in Tonga. This three-year programme supporting the formal path to the planned 2010 elections focuses on civic education and public participation in the reform process.

More information about Tonga.

Following the 2006 coup in Fiji , New Zealand instituted a range of sanctions against the military regime. This included freezing New Zealand 's assistance to the Government and reviewing all other initiatives. Visit the Fiji programme page for more information. NZAID is continuing to look at ways in which New Zealand may be able to continue to help the poorest Fijians, especially those living in urban squatter and other informal settlements.

Often un-democratic processes impact most on the poor – the people who New Zealand 's aid programme is trying to help. Because of this, even when there are reasons not to support or engage with a country's government, NZAID still tries to find ways of continuing to help those living in developing countries.

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What role does NZAID play in sudden emergencies like cyclones, earthquakes or tsunamis?

The Pacific region is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters such as cyclones and tsunamis. When a disaster like this occurs in the Pacific, NZAID takes a lead role, responding with a hands-on approach.

Often the first donor on the scene, New Zealand is well placed to assist with immediate relief efforts, particularly in the form of urgent supplies. Direct assistance may include providing essential goods such as tarpaulins, blankets, building materials, water purification tablets and water containers, and food. It may also include technical expertise such as an engineer or communications expert to assist in the restoration of essential infrastructure like water supply and sanitation, phone lines and power.

Whatever form the response takes, it is designed to ensure that the affected country is helped back onto its feet as quickly as possible. NZAID works closely with the New Zealand Defence Force and other government organisations in emergency situations.

For more information on NZAID's Pacific Disasters Management programme, view the factsheet.

If the disaster occurs outside the Pacific, like the 2004 Asian tsunami or 2005 Pakistan earthquake, NZAID offers assistance through humanitarian organisations like the United Nations (UN) or the Red Cross. Working with partner organisations is an effective way of making sure that the assistance reaches those in need.

New Zealand also contributes to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), established by the UN in 2006. This fund enables the UN and other agencies to respond immediately to disasters anywhere in the world, without waiting for funds to arrive through special appeals, which can take some time to organise.

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How does NZAID choose its priorities within a country?

Most developing countries have their own national development or poverty reduction plan which sets out the priority areas for assistance. NZAID aims to align New Zealand 's support with these.

Priorities are set out in country strategies that are jointly agreed by NZAID and partner governments through comprehensive consultation with interested parties in the country concerned and in New Zealand .

New Zealand also tries to work with other donor countries, particularly Australia , to ensure that development programmes are coordinated.

For more information about NZAID's priorities click here.

What is tied aid?

Tied aid is when governments provide development assistance, but with strings attached. This might include insisting that any goods or services used are purchased from the donor country or that nationals of the donor country always implement the aid work. This has the effect of increasing the cost of aid and often involves the loss of capacity-building opportunities that could be gained through using in-country personnel. The obligation to purchase goods from specific donor countries also contributes to maintenance and repair problems.

Many donor countries are moving away from this practice, however several large donor governments still operate tied aid programmes, or programmes that require countries to seek special permission to use goods and services from other countries.

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Is New Zealand 's aid tied?

While some of NZAID's work is carried out by New Zealand contractors, none of New Zealand 's aid is tied.

One of the aims of the 2005 Paris Declaration is to promote further progress in untying aid and New Zealand supports this in policy and practice.

What is the difference between aid and development assistance?

Aid is an umbrella term that is commonly used to describe either development assistance or short-term humanitarian support.

Development assistance is longer-term assistance provided by developed countries to support the long-term economic, social and political development of developing countries. An example of this is New Zealand 's support for the Solomon Islands Government's education programme. NZAID is supporting the Ministry of Education to achieve its goal of providing a quality basic education for all children and eliminating gender disparity at all levels of education. For more information see the Solomon Islands programme page.

Development assistance can also include developed countries' efforts to increase the coherence of domestic and development policies, for example in the areas of trade, investment, migration and arms control/exports.

Humanitarian aid is the support given to alleviate a crisis situation. It is the type of aid that is provided when responding to a conflict situation or disaster like a cyclone, tsunami, earthquake or flood.

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What is the difference between multilateral and bilateral aid?

Bilateral aid is money given by one country's government directly to another country.

NZAID has four major bilateral programmes: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Indonesia. NZAID also has bilateral programmes in Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Viet Nam, Philippines, Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic and Timor-Leste. NZAID maintains a programme in Fiji with specific sanctions.

New Zealand has constitutional development relationships with Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau that underpin NZAID's programmes in these countries.

Multilateral aid is aid delivered by international organisations such as United Nations agencies and the World Bank, where different donors' money is pooled together before being delivered by the international organisation on everyone's behalf.

New Zealand , through NZAID, has 10 core multilateral engagements. NZAID's support to the multilateral system is shaped by the Multilateral Engagement Strategy.

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What are the Millennium Development Goals?

In September 2000 a summit of 189 countries, including New Zealand , agreed to work together to reduce extreme poverty. They identified eight goals around which to rally their efforts, known as the Millennium Development Goals Millennium Development Goals. These goals were reconfirmed at a special United Nations summit in 2005.

The goals are:

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality

Goal 5: Improve maternal health

Goal 6: Combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

The Millennium Development Goals represent an unprecedented global consensus on working together to reduce extreme poverty. They set out time-bound targets and indicators that will, if met, lead to substantial reduction in poverty and poverty-related conditions for hundreds of millions of people.

For New Zealand , working towards achieving the MDGs influences all NZAID strategies and policies and reflects the agency's long-term commitment to working with partners and the international community.

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How well is New Zealand playing its part in the global effort to meet the Millennium Development Goals?

New Zealand was one of the 189 countries that signed the Millennium Declaration in 2000 and agreed to work towards reducing extreme poverty.

Internationally progress so far has been mixed, and New Zealand 's progress reflects this; although there has been significant and positive progress, there is much to be done by the 2015 target date.

New Zealand 's Contribution to the Global Partnership for Development - The Millennium Development Goals explains New Zealand 's progress and challenges. If you would like a hard copy of the report, please email: enquiries@nzaid.govt.nz. New Zealand 's next progress report will be published in 2010.

Do large aid programmes make countries reliant on handouts?

New Zealand recognises that supporting sustainable development and reducing poverty will require long term international assistance in many countries. Building local capacity and ensuring everyone has access to reasonable education, health and other services is going to take time, especially when many of the countries New Zealand works with have quite limited funds of their own. NZAID accepts the need for and expect many of New Zealand 's development partnerships to be long-term.

One of the foundations of New Zealand 's aid programme is sustainability. In the past a lot of aid was given without an eye to the future and this has had some negative impacts on developing countries. To avoid this, NZAID does a lot of work and planning around the long-term impacts and affordability of the initiatives we support.

Many of NZAID's programmes include activities intended to help support people develop and strengthen their livelihoods in the long-term. Even some of NZAID's disaster relief aid programmes are geared towards helping communities reduce the risk of natural disasters. For example, this might mean moving settlements away from flood prone areas so people are safer, and the need for emergency relief is less frequent.

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Do countries who receive aid have to pay it back?

New Zealand 's aid programme consists of grants and these do not need to be paid back. However, donors such as NZAID do receive detailed reports on how the money is being spent and a financial record to back this up. This means the Government can be sure that the money New Zealand is providing is being used appropriately and in a way that will help the country to develop.

Some countries and organisations (like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank) provide aid through concessional loans, or a mixture of grants and loans. New Zealand , through NZAID, provides support to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, and contributes to the Highly Indebted Poor Country and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiatives, which are helping to reduce debt levels in many poor, heavily indebted, developing countries.

How does NZAID ensure that aid money doesn't go to corrupt people?

NZAID carries out reviews and evaluations to assess the performance and effectiveness of New Zealand 's official development assistance programmes and activities. We require regular reports on how our money is being spent. NZAID and the wider government sector also provide assistance to help partner countries strengthen their own public financial management systems. For example, NZAID, in conjunction with the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department and the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), is working with the Solomon Islands Inland Revenue Division to re-establish an effective taxation system.

New Zealand's development assistance is usually only a small proportion of a country's budget, so helping improve the overall public financial management system can have a much bigger impact than only focusing on how New Zealand's own aid money is spent.

More about evaluating aid effectiveness.

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How does NZAID ensure that groups who receive NZAID funding spend it properly?

As a government organisation, NZAID is required under the Public Finance Act to have robust financial and contractual processes.

Organisations that receive NZAID funding have to follow agreed procedures - starting from the day the contract is signed or agreement comes into effect. Regular progress reports are also required. NZAID will take the appropriate course of action if there are any discrepancies.

When working through partner governments NZAID places increasing emphasis on strengthening the monitoring and evaluation systems of the partner government. When projects are completed, evaluations take place to assess the performance and effectiveness of the activity. Lessons learnt are then applied to the planning and design of future programmes.

Read more about evaluating aid effectiveness and NZAID's contractual processes.

How can we tell that aid programmes are working?

NZAID carries out evaluations and reviews to assess the performance and effectiveness of all its programmes.

Evaluations of development activities are an essential component of NZAID's work. An evaluation is the assessment of planned, ongoing or completed development projects. NZAID endeavours to make evaluations should be as systematic and objective as possible. NZAID carries out evaluations for accountability, learning and improvement purposes. NZAID also defines evaluation in a more restricted sense as the assessment of outcomes and/or impact of a nearing completion or completed development activity.

At NZAID evaluations are complemented by reviews, which take place at key points during the lifetime of a development activity. Reviews provide a better understanding of what is being achieved and identify how the implementation of the project can be improved.

 

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