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From December 2009, Global Focus Aotearoa will become the new name for the Development Resource Centre and its programmes the Global Education Centre and Dev-Zone.
Over 15 years, the Development Resource Centre has built a strong reputation as a specialist provider of information and education on global and development issues, particularly for development practitioners, tertiary students, teachers and young people. All of the organisation’s existing products and services will be available from www.globalfocus.org.nz. For further information, contact megan@globalfocus.org.nz.
For the 2009/10 financial year NZAID has contributed $1,770,890 towards the core costs of Global Focus Aotearoa.
More than five million children could be saved over six years if a comprehensive plan to tackle pneumonia is adopted worldwide, according to the United Nations Children’s Agency (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The comprehensive plan, called the Global Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Pneumonia (GAPP), was jointly launched by the two agencies at the Global Pneumonia Summit in New York City on 2 November.
Ann M. Veneman, UNICEF’s Executive Director, said “Pneumonia is the leading cause of under age five mortality, killing more than 4,000 children every day. Effective interventions to reduce deaths caused by pneumonia must be used more widely and made more readily available for children at risk.”
The New Zealand Government, through NZAID, is a strong supporter of UNICEF’s work. New Zealand’s contribution of NZ$6 million in the 2008/09 financial year provided funding for UNICEF’s core work.
You can view the GAPP report here Global Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Pneumonia.
Applications are now open for the 2010 STARS Impact Awards. Since 2001, the United Kingdom’s STARS Foundation has been providing grants to organisations working with disadvantaged children in the areas of health, education and protection.
The STARS Impact Awards support organisations committed to achieving excellence in the provision of services to disadvantaged children and to encourage the replication of effective approaches and practices.
Eligible organisations working with children in the Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, or Asia are invited to apply. The awards recognise one recipient in each category of health, education, and protection. Each award provides US$100,000 of unrestricted funding as well as consultancy support tailored to meet the needs of the recipients.
All information regarding the application process and the eligibility criteria is available at www.starsfoundation.org.uk.
The closing date for applications is 1pm GMT Tuesday 19 January 2010.
One of the main multilateral organisations that NZAID funds, the United Nations Children's Agency (UNICEF), has been commended for providing US$8.5 million in new funding to support mosquito net distribution campaigns across eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
The United Nation's Special Envoy for Malaria, Ray Chambers, estimated that this will lead to the protection of 40 million people from malaria. Over 150 million long-lasting insecticidal mosquito nets are set to be delivered by next year.
For more information on NZAID’s support for UNICEF contact Jenny Clark.
Published six times a year, NZAID’s Currents magazine is an interesting and informative way to find out more about how New Zealand is working to support development and respond to humanitarian crisis in our region, and further afield.
To receive a free copy of the magazine please contact Nadine Koszler with your mailing details or visit NZAID’s website to download a copy.
The next issue of Currents, available in December, will include articles on New Zealand’s comprehensive response to the Pacific tsunami in September, the rise of development gift registers and fair trade products, an interview with Dr Inés Alberdi, Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), and profiles NZAID’s programme in the Philippines.
 - The latest issue - out now!
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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.
 - Participants in a health impact assessment workshop present to the group. Photo - NZ MoH
Two health impact assessment workshops were effectively completed in Samoa earlier this month with support from the New Zealand Ministry of Health (NZ MoH) and funding from NZAID’s State Sector Development Partnerships Fund (DPF).
The training initiatives involved NZ MoH working with the Samoan Health Ministry to build technical capacity within Samoa on health impact assessment methods and strategies, and to identify opportunities within Samoa to use health impact assessment tools in an ongoing way, including identifying future training or capacity building needs.
Health impact assessment methods and tools can be used to assess a policy, programme or project for its potential effects on the health of the population, and the distribution of those effects within the population. Health impact assessments consider the wider determinants of health such as social, economic, environmental and cultural factors, and make recommendations about how a policy, programme or project can improve, protect and promote human health before it is undertaken.
The training took place between 9-13 November and included a two-day health impact assessment training workshop and a one day ‘train the trainers’ workshop to build ongoing capacity in Samoa for health impact assessment. Forty-two participants from across the health sector in Samoa were involved in the first workshop, and over 30 participants took part in the ‘train the trainers’ course. The NZ MoH and the University of Otago co-developed and delivered the training.
Feedback from workshop participants was encouraging. Many participants felt the training was highly valuable and positively reflected on the interactive and collaborative nature of the workshops. Participants also provided valuable comments on ways the training could be improved for future workshops, including the use of more Samoan language.
The training initiatives took place within the wider context of the health sector wide approach (SWAp) led by the Government of Samoa and supported by NZAID, AusAID and the World Bank. The health SWAp is a large programme that endeavors to consider all aspects and stakeholders in the health sector in Samoa and support a coordinated country-led response as a whole rather than as separate individual projects.
For more information about the health impact assessment workshops and the DPF contact Ginny Chapman.
The 10th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women was recognised on 25 November. Worldwide people wear a white ribbon, the symbol for the day, to signify that they do not condone violence towards women.
As part of the commemorations to recognise the day the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched a Network of Men Leaders, which brings together current and former politicians, activists, religious and community figures to fight the global issue. Mr Ban believes, “These men will add their voices to the growing global chorus for action”, noting that 70 percent of women experience in their lifetime some form of physical or sexual violence from men, the majority from husbands, intimate partners or someone they know.
Violence undermines development, generates instability and makes peace harder to achieve. “In every country, women and girls continue to be plagued by violence, causing tremendous suffering. It is crucial to address the root causes of violence by eradicating discrimination and changing the mindset that reinforces prejudice”, Mr Ban said.
Dr Inés Alberdi, the head of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), recognises that support for the issue of violence against women was growing, stating “There are now more national plans, policies and laws in place than ever before, and momentum is also growing in the intergovernmental arena.”
NZAID is working with strategic partners in the Pacific to help prevent domestic violence through capacity building and changing people’s attitudes and behaviour. One initiative is the Pacific Prevention of Domestic Violence Programme (PPDVP), a tri-partite project between NZAID, New Zealand Police and the Pacific Island Chiefs of Police. Its aim is to contribute to a safer Pacific, free of domestic violence. This will be achieved through increased police capacity, and strengthened legislative and policy environments to effectively respond to domestic violence at both national and regional levels.
Participating Pacific countries each have a dedicated NZ Police mentor, who either currently works in and/or has solid experience in the area of domestic violence in New Zealand. The mentors undertake periodic visits to their Pacific island countries to provide advice and training to their Pacific counterparts, and liaise with their equivalents between visits via e-mail and phone.
The PPDVP played an active role in promoting anti-domestic violence messages throughout participating Pacific island countries as part of the White Ribbon Day campaign.
For more information about NZAID’s work with UNIFEM contact Jane Coster. For more information about the PPDVP contact Ranmali Fernando.
 - Debris and destruction show the strength of the tsunami in Samoa. Photo - ShelterBox
A series of benefit concerts across New Zealand involving top New Zealand performers have raised more than $344,000 to aid Samoa following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in September.
The concerts featured New Zealand artists including Tim and Neil Finn, Dave Dobbyn, Scribe, Bic Runga and Savage. Five different concerts took place in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, New Plymouth and Wellington between 19 October and 26 October.
Concert organising committee member Pati Umaga says the support from New Zealanders has been overwhelming. "Hours after the tsunami, people across the country were talking about how we could mobilise quickly to help. This is how the series of tsunami relief concerts were born. People then stood by our people to show the love and to make a difference to those who lost so much. We were overwhelmed by the organisations and volunteers who helped us out for free in particular our artists who shared their talent with our community."
Organisers of the concerts were donating $50,000 each to the hardest hit villages of Lalomanu and Poutasi, with the rest of the proceeds going to the Samoa Tsunami 2009 Appeal Charitable Trust.
For more information about the New Zealand Government's response to the Pacific tsunami visit NZAID’s website.
 - People from crime prevention community groups took to the streets of Honiara for a Crime Prevention Sharing Day.
More than 600 people from crime prevention community groups took to the streets of Honiara in Solomon Islands this month for a Crime Prevention Sharing Day and calling for communities to reduce and prevent crime.
The Crime Prevention Sharing Day was coordinated by Save the Children in partnership with NZAID and Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, highlighted the role of crime prevention within communities. The aim of the Crime Prevention Sharing Day was to get the communities together to share their crime prevention initiatives with each other.
Groups gathered at the Cultural Village in Honiara where young people represented their communities in speech, drama, song and cultural performance competitions that focused on crime prevention.
Crime Prevention Centres have been established in the communities under a project called Children and Youth in Conflict with Law, to reduce and stop criminal activities in communities. The two-and-half-year project is facilitated by Save the Children and funded by NZAID.
Save the Children’s Children and Youth in Conflict with the Law Programme operates in Guadacanal, Western, Isabel, Makira and Malaita Provinces. The programme supports the establishment of community based Crime Prevention Committees (CPC). The CPC’s, in partnership with community police and community members, work together to develop ways to prevent crime and ensure young people are aware of the implications of committing crime.
NZAID supports the wider Save the Children project to promote and protect the best interests of children and youth within the justice system. The project aims to reduce the incidence of criminal activity by children and youth, and strengthen protective mechanisms for those exposed to the criminal justice system.
Save the Children Acting Country Director Georgia Noy credited the communities with the success of Save the Children’s crime prevention programmes. “It is important for us to have strong partnerships with the communities, together with the commitment of the police,” she said.
For more information about the Children and Youth in Conflict with the Law Programme contact Brenda Waleka.
20 November 2009 marked the 20th anniversary of adoption by the United Nations (UN) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention sets out the basic human rights for children everywhere, including the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the Convention, which has become the most widely accepted human rights treaty in history and has been sanctioned by 193 States, including ratification by New Zealand on 13 March 1993, has inspired new approaches and advances in child survival and education, as well as increased awareness of children’s specific problems.
Signifcant progress has been made over the past 20 years in improving the lives of the children worldwide, including a 28 percent drop in annual mortality of those aged under five from 12.5 million to an estimated 8.8 million; access to improved water sources for 1.6 billion people; an increase in primary-school-age children in class to around 84 percent, with the gender gap narrowing; and more care for children living with HIV and AIDS. Despite this, UN officials believe much more remains to be done for children across the globe.
The Secretary-General noted that millions of children still die before their fifth birthday from largely preventable causes like pneumonia, malaria, measles and malnutrition. Millions more lack access to clean food, water and education, and are victims of violence and exploitation. Mr Ban said that a time when multiple crises threaten the poorest people, particularly in developing countries, “Children must be at the heart of our thinking on climate change, on the food crisis, and on the other challenges we are addressing on a daily basis.”
The Convention was the first legally binding international mechanism to affirm human rights for all children. The four core principles of the Convention are non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child.
For more information contact communications@nzaid.govt.nz.
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