2024-25 bilateral allocation [budget estimate]

$3.1 million

2024-25 total Australian ODA [budget estimate]

$4.7 million

2023-24 bilateral allocation [budget estimate]

$2.5 million

2023-24 total Australian ODA [budget estimate]

$4.6 million

2022-23 total Australian ODA [actual]

$7.7 million

The Federated States of Micronesia also benefits from non-ongoing COVID-19 measures. Funding from these measures will be included in actual figures published in the relevant Australia’s Official Development Assistance: Statistical Summary.

Australia's aid program in the North Pacific is focused on the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), following the Republic of Palau’s graduation from Official Development Assistance (ODA) on 1 January 2022.

Australia’s long-term development cooperation with FSM is delivering important outcomes in priority sectors, including education and scholarships, strengthening safety and economic opportunities for women and girls, and investing in climate change and disaster resilience.

Commencing in 2017, Australia is co-financing with the Government of the FSM and the Asian Development Bank, the Improving the Quality of Basic Education (IQBE) Project. IQBE aims to strengthen FSM’s education systems  in early grade learning for all schools.

Australia is providing $2.12 million to support FSM address the oil spill risk from World War II wrecks in the Chuuk Lagoon, helping protect local communities and the environment.

Australia is co-funding with the United States and Japan the East Micronesia Cable project, boosting telecommunications across FSM, Nauru and Kiribati, through the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) .

Australia's regional programs complement its bilateral programs across the Pacific. Our regional programs include those that assist the FSM manage its fisheries (through the Forum Fisheries Agency), mitigate the impacts of severe climate, tidal and oceanographic events, (through the Climate and Oceans Support Program in the Pacific), and strengthen awareness of medicine safety (through the Pacific Medicines Testing Program).

Australia's bilateral aid program in the FSM supports the following strategic objectives:

Objective 1: Improving the quality of basic education

Australia, along with the Government of FSM and the Asian Development Bank, is co-financing the Improving Quality Basic Education Project to help improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the national and state education systems, and drive gains in early grade learning (Australia's contribution is valued at $2.4 million over six years to 2023). Australia has also deployed three education specialists to assist the Department of Education to coordinate effective implement of the project.

Objective 2: Achieving gender equality and enhancing women's empowerment

Australia is working to address gender equality in FSM. Our activities, working closely with FSM partners, aim to foster economic empowerment of women and reduce the incidence of gender based violence. Australia also supports initiatives to improve opportunities for women through our scholarships and at the local level through flexible, small grants.

Objective 3: Health security and responding to COVID-19

Australia has been working closely with FSM and international partners in supporting FSM’s COVID-19 preparedness. Australia’s contributions include our 26 June 2022 delivery of 100,000 N95 masks, 4,000 medical gowns, 12 field tents and 100 pulse oximeters.

This is part of Australia’s commitment to bolster COVID-19 preparedness and recovery in the Pacific.

Our results

Australia's aid program has:

• awarded over 100 long-term and short-term Australia Awards scholarships to Micronesians, to study in the Pacific and Australia, over half to women
• improved teacher preparedness by helping to train over 900 teachers across FSM on numeracy and literacy and developing 120 bilingual readers for Yap and Kosrae students  
• funded workshops on gender-based violence for 1400 high school students across Pohnpei State.