We will now be publishing Devpolicy’s monthly newsletter on our blog to give it further exposure.
Amazing Australians in Aid
In August and September Devpolicy will be hosting lectures from two Australians who have had remarkable careers in aid. Come to be inspired and challenged.
Smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia: The challenges and rewards of sustainable Newcastle disease control
Dr. Robyn Alders,
Monday 27 August @ 12.30pm
Seminar Room 5, Level 2, JG Crawford Building 132, Lennox Crossing, ANU Registration available here
Robyn Alders has worked for the last two decades to develop vaccines and community-based programs for the control of Newcastle Disease (ND) which afflicts poultry and threatens livelihoods in several African and Asian countries. In this public lecture she will share her experiences and lessons learnt.
Dr Robyn Alders is Associate Professor, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, and an Officer of the Order of Australia.
Challenges to global health: Getting what works to those who need it
Dr. Kamalini Lokuge
Monday 10 September @ 12.30 pm
Lennox Room, Level 1, JG Crawford Building 132, Lennox Crossing, ANU
Registration available here
Drawing on her extensive experience delivering and researching health programs in complex, conflicted and poor regions of the world, Kamalini Lokuge will explore the difficulties of bringing effective aid to vulnerable populations.
Dr Kamalini Lokuge is an ANU Research Fellow at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health and a Research Associate of the Development Policy Centre at the Crawford School of Public Policy. She also works as a doctor and medical epidemiologist for international health organisations including Médecins Sans Frontières, the World Health Organisation, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. She was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2010.
Evaluation forum
Australian Aid Evaluation: Present and Future
Jim Adams, Chair of the IEC, Dereck Rooken-Smith, Head of ODE and others
Thursday 30 August @ 9am
Acton Theatre, Level 1, JG Crawford Building 132, Lennox Crossing, ANU
Registration available here
This half-day workshop will promote analysis and discussion of recent evaluations released by AusAID’s Office of Development Effectiveness (ODE) and a broader discussion about the role of ODE, its plans for the future, and the newly announced Independent Evaluations Committee (IEC), which has been set up to oversee ODE’s evaluations and guarantee their quality and independence.
Jim Adams is a former Vice-President with the World Bank and the first Chair of the IEC. Other speakers will include authors of recent ODE evaluations (on rural development and the Philippines), senior AusAID staff who will provide management responses, and academic experts who will provide independent commentary
2012 Pacific Update
2012 Pacific Update: PNG, Fiji, Timor Leste, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga and Samoa
Bart Philemon, Serena Sasingian, Nikunj Soni, Odo Tevi, Joyce Mafi, Kolone Vaai, Rick Houenipwela and Biman Prasad
Thursday 6 September @ 2:00pm
Crawford School, ANU.
Registration available here
The 2012 Pacific Update is a unique opportunity to hear about the latest Pacific political and economic developments, debates and challenges from a unparalleled pool of Pacific expertise, including two finance ministers, two central bank governors, and leading regional academics, advisers and civil-society voices. The Update will consist of three panels: one on PNG and Timor Leste; one on Fiji and Solomon Islands; and one on Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu. Our panelists will make short presentations and then take questions from the floor – and each other. This event is being organized with the Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies Society, details of whose September 5-6 conference are available here.
Other upcoming events
Improving the nutrition status of children and women: what role for aid?
Lawrence Haddad, Director, Institute of Development Studies
Tuesday 28 August @ 5.30pm
Acton Theatre, J.G Crawford Building #132, ANU
Registration available here
Undernutrition is a leading risk factor for morbidity and mortality. It undermines economic performance and facilitates intergenerational poverty. Its invisibility, irreversibility and multisectorality are a challenge for domestic public policy.
Political commitment for doing something about undernutrition remains patchy and the evidence gaps to guide action are large. In this context, what is the best role for ODA? The talk will explore the options and make some recommendations.
Tertiary education reform and the role of aid
Dr Jamil Salmi, Global Tertiary Education Expert and Former World Bank Tertiary Education Coordinator 2006-2012
Monday 3 September @ 12.30pm
Lennox Room, J.G Crawford Building #132, ANU
Registration available here
Many developing countries continue to wrestle with difficulties in overcoming the long standing challenges faced by their tertiary education system. And the donor community has not always recognized the importance of tertiary education for development and capacity building. Jamil Salmi’s presentation will focus on (i) the recent evolution of donor support for education and tertiary education, (ii) lessons of experience with external aid to transform tertiary education, and (iii) recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of donor interventions in tertiary education. Light lunch provided.
TB in the Torres Straits region
DP 22 – Tuberculosis control in the Torres Strait region: What’s needed and why? Report following a public forum
Kamalini Lokuge, Kebei Salee Koeget & Anastasios Konstantinos
The authors highlight the problem of TB in the Torres Strait region between PNG and Australia. They acknowledge the promising steps recently taken, but argue that unless more is done we run the risk of the spread of not just muti-drug resistant but extremely-drug resistant TB. It’s a difficult issue, but one that will require a large financial and long-term commitment to make progress. The Discussion Paper is summarised in this blog post.
New staff
This month we welcome two new interns who will be joining us for three months as a part of the Australian National Internship Program: Madeleine McCloy and Sophie Roden.
We also welcome two graduate researchers, one new and one returning: Colum Graham and Ashlee Betteridge.
Blog posts
This month on the blog we have introduced two new blog features, ‘notes’ and the education buzz. ‘Notes’ are intended as smaller posts to provide opinion and commentary from within the Centre on aid and development issues. The education buzz will pull together Devpolicy blogs on education and also draw on other materials such as news, reports, reviews of books and journal articles, information about conferences and provide links to other education networks.
Here is a list of Devpolicy blog posts (organized thematically) since our last newsletter, a month ago.
Blog digest
July blog digest: A Parliamentary Committee for aid | Too many health meetings in the Pacific | Blog summary by Stephen Howes.
Buzzes
Development Buzz (Aug 15): Post-2015 panel | Mortality and malnutrition in South Sudan | XIX International AIDS Conference | More by Sophie Roden.
Pacific Buzz (August 8): Diplomatic relations restored with Fiji | Peter O’Neill returned as PM | Two more Melanesian women MPs elected… and more by Devpolicy-PiPP.
Education Buzz (Aug 3): a new education in development collaboration by Robert cannon.
Aid buzz (Aug 1): Pac. seasonal workers – final numbers and new caps | Senate enquiry into aid to Afghanistan | ADRAS | More by Jonathan Pryke.
Pacific Buzz (July 25): Political round up | Fiji plots, arrests and decrees | Family planning boost | Unrealistic energy targets | Search for missing millions… and more by Devpolicy-PiPP.
Aid
Australian aid in the Asian century: part one – the humanitarian case by Stephen Howes.
Australian aid in the Asian century: part two – international public goods by Stephen Howes.
Australian aid in the Asian century: part three – the arguments against aid by Stephen Howes.
Analysing New Zealand aid trends: a tale of stagnation by Terence Wood.
Development Policy
Combatting Ebola: a personal account by Kamalini Lokuge.
WASH and HIV/AIDS: what’s the link? by Vanessa Varonese.
The Pacific
Poor political governance in Solomon Islands – is culture the cause? By Terence Wood.
What future for the seasonal worker program? A conference report by Richard Curtain.
Pacific economies weathering global financial turmoil, but for how long? by Christopher Edmonds.
So many meetings, so little impact by Joel Negin.
Renewable energy targets in the Pacific: Why are unrealistic targets adopted? by Matthew Dornan.
What future for the seasonal worker program? A conference report by Richard Curtain.
PNG
Papua New Guinea Sustainable Development Program – how is it performing? By Margaret Callan.
PNG national elections: polling in the National Capital District (NCD) by Philip Mitna.
Can social media transform Papua New Guinea? Reflections and questions by Michelle Rooney.
Confronting the economic challenges facing PNG’s new government by Aaron Batten.
Notes
Note: Ban Ki Moon wrong on water MDG by Stephen Howes and Jonathan Pryke.
Note: PNG’s progress by Matthew Morris.
Note: Australia-Pacific Technical College by Stephen Howes.
Note: Is Westpac funding illegal logging in Solomon Islands? By Terence Wood.
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