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.

127 schools in Tonga will now begin to benefit from the recent roll-out of a much anticipated pilot schools grant programme. The NZAID-funded scheme will provide around $750,000 for the remaining six months of this school year. 

Designed to provide more operational funding for schools, the Tonga Schools Grants Programme (TSGP) will fund resources which meet each school’s specific prioritised plan to improve the overall level of teaching and learning.

Grant amounts vary from school to school and are worked out using a formula that takes into account the number of students and the school’s location – remote schools get additional funding. The average grant is nearly TOP5,000 and the responsibility for spending the school grants has been given to each individual school. 

The pilot will be reviewed later this year in order to refine the funding mechanism and to improve delivery aspects.  The TSGP is a key component of the Tonga Education Support Programme (TESP) which is funded and supported by NZAID and the World Bank.

TESP aims to improve the quality of universal basic education through the equitable delivery of services and resources and the strengthening of management, policy-making, monitoring and evaluation within the education sector. 

It’s activities include establishing and resourcing minimum service standards in individual schools; reforming the curriculum, assessment and qualifications; improving teacher quality and supply; and strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Education in policy, planning, monitoring and evaluation.

For more information please contact kirsty.burnett@nzaid.govt.nz

In early June NZAID staff member Peter Zwart headed the New Zealand delegation at the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Annual Board meeting in Rome.

The new Executive Director, Josette Sheeran, addressed the member countries of WFP, outlining key challenges of delivering food to address hunger and malnutrition in emergency and long term situations.  

These challenges include projected decreases in farm yields due to the lack of rain associated with climate change, rising food prices due to competition from biofuels and demand for food from emerging economies, plus rising costs of transport due to energy prices.  

Sheeran highlighted the possibility that soon the world will no longer be able to count on producing enough food every year to meet the global need.  Currently the WFP provides food for some 80 million hungry people, while non-government organisations reach a further 80 million.  But together this is only 20% of the 800 million people who suffer hunger and malnutrition globally. 

The meeting continued several long running debates and some newer ones including WFP’s role in supporting development and capacity building, and when it is better to provide cash support rather than food.  There is a strong focus on strengthening cost effectiveness and tailoring of responses to local conditions, reducing donor restrictions which cause delays or poor targeting, and a wish to strengthen collaboration between WFP and other UN agencies, particularly the Food and Agriculture Organisation, to ensure that together they address the underlying issues of food insecurity.

These issues will continue to be debated as part of the WFP strategic planning process to be concluded mid 2008.  Food security may also come on to the next G8 agenda under Japan’s stewardship.