Caption: The young men of Freshwater community are learning techniques to prevent mental illness and distress.

Pacific regional health

2007/2008 allocation: $8 million

Snapshot

NZAID's Pacific Regional Health Programme aims to support the development of more efficient quality primary and public health care regional services in the Pacific through improved planning, delivery and management.

The programme is designed to work in partnership with key stakeholders in the Pacific (including governments, regional agencies, non-governmental organisation and communities) to develop, implement and evaluate primary health prevention and care.

NZAID priorities

The NZAID Health Policy Ending poverty begins with Health sets the overarching context that guides the Pacific Regional Health Programme. NZAID supports the priorities identified by the Pacific Ministers of Health. These priority areas – communicable diseases; non communicable diseases; and human resources for health – are delivered through the strategic framework of the Pacific Regional Health Programme.

Strategic partnerships

NZAID has developed strategic partnerships with key regional health agencies, including the Fiji School of Medicine, United Nations Children’s Fund, United Nations Population Fund and Pacific Island Aids Foundation.

Multi year programme initiatives

NZAID funds a range of initiatives that are in line with the priorities articulated by key partners in the Pacific. This includes:

communicable diseases (sexually transmitted infections including HIV and AIDS, surveillance and outbreak, immunisation)
non communicable diseases (healthy lifestyles, blindness prevention, disabilities, mental health and tobacco control)
human resources for health (strengthening workforce capacity).

While the provision of primary health is the focus of NZAID’s support, the agency also contributes to secondary and tertiary health care through the provision of specialist medical treatment either in New Zealand (Medical Treatment Scheme) or in-country (Visiting Medical Treatment Scheme). The Pacific Regional Health programme funds coordination costs, with treatment costs coming out of the relevant bilateral programmes.

New initiatives for health

New initiatives for health are currently being developed. It is intended that they will be delivered through a small grants fund that that is flexible and able to respond rapidly to promote and support innovative regional ideas.

NZAID on the ground

Regional Coordination to Address HIV and AIDS

In line with the principles of aid effectiveness, there has been growing collaboration on key health sector priorities across the region. The Pacific Regional HIV and AIDS Strategy, endorsed by Pacific Islands Leaders in 2004, is based on recognition that collective action is needed to respond effectively to HIV and AIDS in the region.

The implementation plan of the Pacific Regional HIV and AIDS Strategy (PRSIP) was developed a year later. The PRSIP is a significant step towards regional coordination of HIV and AIDS activities undertaken by a range of stakeholders (governments, regional agencies, multilateral agencies, non-governmental organisation and communities). It aims to increase the capacity within the Pacific to respond effectively to HIV and AIDS, mobilise resources and expertise; and assist countries to meet national and international targets. NZAID has committed US$5 million over 2006-2009 to the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) to support the PRSIP.

NZAID acknowledges that if the response to HIV and AIDS is to be effective, it needs to be integrated into the broader sexual and reproductive health (SRH) agenda. To this end, the Pacific Regional Health Programme supports a number of SRH initiatives that address gender inequality, access to sexual and reproductive health information and services, leadership and political awareness, the unpredictable reproductive health commodity supply, adolescent reproductive health, safe motherhood including mother-to-child transmission of HIV and the elimination of violence against women.