AusAID 2005 Project
Review
KGRE spoke with Robin Davies recently. Robin Davies is AusAID Country
Director for Indonesia. He works at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.
In his office there are 8 staff members from Australia and 25 Indonesians.
Before working in Jakarta he worked in Canberra looking after AusAID’s
Indonesian aid program.
‘My name is Robin Davies. I’m the AusAID Country Director for Indonesia.
I, I work at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta where we have staff of
8 Australian and 25 Indonesians. I’ve been here in Jakarta for 12 months
now. Before this I was working in Canberra but still dealing with the
Indonesia program and and two or three the other countries. First I should
say this is a very exciting time for the development cooperation relationship
between Australia and Indonesia. We now have a new government which attaches
very high priority to eastern Indonesia and the development of eastern
Indonesia. And that’s where of our aid goes. We we have health and education
and local government development programs across eastern Indonesia’.
Eastern Indonesia is an Indonesian government priority area however
AusAID also works in other areas of the country. By looking at the AusAID
Archives Reports on this website and by checking out the official AusAID
website you will see that in fact AusAID works in many areas of
Indonesia. Education, for example, is a high priority for both the Indonesian
and the Australian governments.
‘We’ve already began several (education) activities. We we started
about six months ago a large new program in support of Islamic Education.
This program is called LAPIS-
Learning Assistance Program for Islamic Schools. And under that
program we will be providing training for teachers who need to have their
skills improved and we we’ll be placing quite a large group of Australian
Volunteer English language trainers in schools in East Java’.
Robin says that 2005 onwards is a very exciting time for Indonesia and
Australia to work together. The current Indonesian Government’s priorities
also include the continuing development of Eastern Indonesia. To assist
the Indonesian government, AusAID will spend A$160 million dollars during
2005.
We have health and education and local government development program
across eastern Indonesia. This year the Australian government will spend
160 million dollars Australia. We’re one of the biggest donors to Indonesia.
We already began several activities. We we started about six months ago
a large new program in support of Islamic Education. And under that program
we will be providing training for teachers who need to have their skills
improved and we we’ll be placing quite a large group of Australian language
trainers in schools (Islamic
Schools English Language Project), in East Java’.
Other AusAID education and training activities in Indonesia -
Tsunami Response from
Australia
The terrible tsunami in December 2004 caused massive destruction
and loss of life in Aceh. AusAID, in cooperation with the Indonesian government,
local government agencies and NGOs, has been just one of the overseas
aid agencies to lend valuable assistance to the people of Aceh..
The Ambassador to Indonesia, Mr. David Ritchie talked with KGRE in January
about Australia’s involvement in Indonesia, especially in light of the
tsunami in Aceh.
| ‘At the very beginning, within hours of the tsunami
having taken place, the. Indonesian government immediately asked for
foreign help knowing that this was a tragedy that was beyond its own
means. And countries like Australia were more than happy to respond
to that. Once the emergency phase of the of the relief efforts
has past, Australia wants to help rebuild Aceh. We want to help reconstruct
Aceh and the Australian government has announced the contribution
of 1 billion Australian dollars, which is the largest aid package
in Australia’s history over five years to assist the people of Aceh
to rebuild their lives and to rebuild their schools and their hospitals
and so forth. That obviously has been extremely much welcomed by the
Indonesian government from the President down. The President told
the Prime Minister that he would never forget the help that Australia
is offering Indonesia'. |
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The following information is taken
from the Australian Embassy website
Reconstruction
Australia’s rehabilitation
and reconstruction assistance to the tsunami affected areas is part of
the Australia Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction and Development
(AIPRD) announced on 5 January by the Australian Prime Minister. Funding
of this $1 billion Partnership will consist of equal parts of grant assistance
and highly concessional financing. Subject to agreement between the two
governments, possible areas for assistance with rehabilitation and reconstruction
in the tsunami affected areas include health, education and child protection,
water supply and sanitation, income generation, governance, and disaster
management.
Relief and Rehabilitation Assistance
to date
Australia has committed $33m toward the relief effort, including $18m
for key UN agencies (UNICEF, OCHA, WHO, WFP) and others under the UN Flash
Appeal, as well as funding through Australian, international and local
NGOs.
To the end of January, an estimated 1036 tonnes of emergency humanitarian
aid has been provided to tsunami victims in Aceh and North Sumatra provinces,
including food, water, medical supplies and shelter equipment, principally
with the assistance of the Australian Defence Forces and UN Joint Operations
Centre partners, as well as through small aircraft and boat charters.
The focus for Australia’s relief effort has been on health and water and
sanitation with most assistance going to Banda Aceh as well as some small
scale support for the North West coast including the outlying islands
of Nias, Batu, Banyak and Simeulue.
Relief
Australian Tsunami assistance to Indonesia for the relief phase includes:
Coordination and transportation
- deployment of 15 AusAID staff/personnel to Banda Aceh, Padang,
and Medan to help coordinate the relief effort;
- coordination and transportation of critically important relief
supplies to affected communities, including the services
of one 707 aircraft, four C-130 Hercules aircraft, one Il-76 aircraft
and two Antonov aircraft with air crews;
- services of the HMAS Kanimbla including 250 sailors, 150
engineers, 2 Sea King Helicopters, 2 Landing Craft and other
equipment to assist in the relief effort; and
- delivery of telecommunications equipment and technicians.
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Disaster management and logistics
- funding for 8 logisticians and 7 engineers from Red R deployed with
WFP, UNJLC and UNHCR;
- funding for three Australian disaster specialists deployed with the
United Nations Disaster Assessment Coordination team; and
- funding for an AusAID/Emergency Management Australia - UN liaison
officer to support the establishment of information and donor
relations systems.
Health
- provision of a 90 bed Australian Defence Force Field Hospital located
in Banda Aceh;
- funding for five teams of up to 27 Australian doctors and medical
staff to provide urgent medical assistance. The first four teams were
located at the Fakinah Hospital in Banda Aceh, and the fifth team was
at the Zainoel Abidin Provincial Hospital;
- provision of essential equipment and medical supplies for the Fakinah
Hospital and the Jiwa Mental Hospital in Banda Aceh;
- funding for a health assessment team in Banda Aceh, including specialists
in health sector coordination,
psycho-social support, child protection, infectious diseases, and pharmaceuticals
and medical supplies;
- the emergency provision of tetanus toxoid vaccines and tetanus immunoglobulin
to treat and prevent disease;
- provision of medical supplies for RS Pirngandi Hospital in Medan
to assist Tsunami victims airlifted from Banda Aceh;
- provision of a team member to the WHO-led health sector assessment.
Water supply and sanitation
- provision of water purification plants to Banda Aceh - the ADF have
produced and distributed over 3 million litres of water to date;
- sourcing and delivering 129,000 20L water containers to Banda Aceh;
- assistance to clear debris and drainage at the Zainoel Abidin and
to re-build public infrastructure through the ADF Engineering Group;
- funding for a water and sanitation specialist to undertake an assessment
and provide support for the provincial administration in addressing
the immediate water supply and sanitation needs in Aceh.
Food and non food items
- financial support to the WFP for emergency food, water supplies and
logistics in support of the humanitarian relief operation and the establishment
of the UN Joint Logistics Centre.
Assistance to the West Coast
- In conjunction with WFP, TNT Express and CARE Australia, purchasing
and transporting food, water and medical supplies from Medan to
Singkil on donated TNT Express trucks, for distribution by boat to the
outlying islands of Simeulue and Banyak;
- chartering of two vessels to deliver urgent food, shelter equipment
and medical supplies to Calang, Simeulue and Banyak;
- in-principle funding for International Surf Aid to charter a vessel
to deliver food, water, shelter equipment and medical personnel to Batu
and Nias Island;
- chartering of two light planes to carry medical supplies (including
medicine for the prevention and treatment of malaria) and rice to Sibolga;
- in-principle funding for International Surf aid to provide longer
term medical aid and malaria prevention assistance to Nias island and
coordinate other NGO activities along the West coast; and
- Funding for CARE Australia to implement a longer term program of support
to address water and sanitation issues in Simuelue and Banyak islands.
Education
- Funds from Australia’s $3m emergency response contribution to UNICEF
are providing a ‘school-in-a box’ program targeting primary level schools,
both state and Islamic.
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation phase activities include:
Education and Child Protection
- through the AusAID funded Learning Assistance Program for Islamic
Schools (LAPIS) –provide basic supplies and procurement for madrasah
at the junior secondary level and the University. Education initiatives
through the LAPIS Emergency Support Unit in Banda Aceh will total $2
million.
Livelihoods
- deployment of a livelihoods specialist to provide advice on options
for engagement in the livelihoods sector, including monitoring policy
developments, immediate and longer term needs of displaced people in
Aceh and map the engagement of UN, civil society and government agencies.
Governance
- provision of strategic planning and communications expertise, including
translator services, to assist the State Ministry of National Planning
(BAPPENAS) to prepare Indonesia’s rehabilitation and reconstruction
strategy.
- engagement of a governance adviser to undertake an overall assessment
of the damage to government structures across the province, with particular
emphasis on the impact of the disaster on human resources.
Health and Water & Sanitation
- completion of a joint rapid assessment with the Indonesian and German
governments to determine the reconstruction needs of the Zainoel Abidin
Provincial Hospital in Banda Aceh.
- support for a combined Australian/Indonesian medical team of up to
30 personnel for up to 3 months at the Zainoel Abidin Provincial Hospital
in Banda Aceh. This team will eventually replace the ADF capacity operating
at the hospital.
- support for re-establishing a procurement and medical supply distribution
network in Banda Aceh by provision of vital infrastructure and human
resources, including leasing a house as a temporary warehouse;
- support for the restoration of government mental health services by
engaging a psychosocial trauma support specialist to undertake an assessment
of the mental hospital and mental health needs more broadly in Banda
Aceh including provision of essential medications. In addition, a team
of 14 Indonesian psycho-social and mental health specialists (from Bali)
have been deployed to work in the mental hospital to support staff to
provide clinical services;
- support for the restoration of government maternal health services
by engaging a maternal health specialist to conduct a rapid assessment
of maternal health needs, focusing on midwife capacity in Aceh province;
- support for a community health service facilitator to assist national
and provincial health departments and Indonesian professional associations
to gather and assess data on community health workforce levels and capacity;
- support for government engagement in infectious disease surveillance
and control procurement by placing an infectious disease specialist
with ‘Mentor’, a malaria prevention NGO; and
- planning for the placement of Australian volunteers in Aceh province
to focus on health, water supply and sanitation needs.
For more KGRE information on the tsuanmi - Click
Here
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