Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd welcomed United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to Melbourne on 6 November 2010 ahead of the Australia-United States Ministerial (AUSMIN) consultations. During the visit, Minister Rudd and Secretary Clinton discussed cooperation between Australia and the US on international development.
New partnership on international development cooperation
Australia and the United States have formed a strategic partnership on international development that will see the two countries working to reduce poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The partnership is governed by a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that commits to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of development activities, to making the best use of limited resources, and ensuring harmonisation of development approaches. Priority areas under the partnership include maternal and child health and family planning; food security; climate change and natural resource management; stabilisation, reconstruction and development in Afghanistan; and the prevention of violence against women.
The MoU was signed on 10 June 2010 and is available on AusAID's website.
The partnership will focus initially on eliminating violence against women, fighting HIV and AIDS and improving women's and children's health.
Eliminating violence against women
Empowering and protecting women requires strong, coordinated action by the international community. To this end, Australia and the United States fully endorse the establishment of the new global institution 'UN Women' and the appointment of former Chilean President, Michelle Bachelet, to lead it.
Australia will provide A$14.5 million to UN Women over two years to support international efforts to empower women and promote equality.
Globally, around 30 per cent of women and girls experience physical or sexual violence during their lifetime, with much higher incidences in conflict zones. Rates of violence against women in some Pacific countries are much higher, with two out of three women having been subjected to physical or sexual violence. Violence against women has significant human rights dimensions, causing trauma to women, families and communities. It also erodes progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals and diminishes the effectiveness of aid.
Australia, through AusAID, will join Secretary Clinton's Office of Global Women's Issues and the World Bank Group to co-host a policy dialogue in Australia in 2011 on effective means to combat violence against women and promote women's empowerment in the Pacific region, as one component of the larger Women's Empowerment Initiative in the Pacific Islands, supported by the United States and the World Bank.
Fighting HIV and AIDS
The spread of HIV and AIDS is one of the biggest development challenges facing Papua New Guinea. Australia and the United States will collaborate closely with PNG on an integrated approach to violence against women and HIV and AIDS. Australia will contribute up to A$3 million over three years to support this initiative. This is in addition to Australia's commitment of nearly A$34 million to HIV and AIDS in PNG in 2010-11.
The United States will also step up the fight against HIV by doubling its contribution to fight HIV and AIDS in PNG next year to US$5 million.
Improving women's and children's health
Women's and children's health and family planning is a key development priority for the Australian and US Governments, as millions of women and children in developing countries die from preventable causes every year.
AusAID-USAID cooperation on child and maternal health in East Timor
Australia will provide A$5 million to the four year, US$14.7 million, US-led Health Improvement Project in East Timor. The project is expected to commence in early 2011.
East Timor has some of the worst maternal and child health statistics in the region: the maternal mortality rate is 440 per 100,000 live births and the infant mortality rate is 44 per 1,000 live births. By comparison Australia's maternal mortality rate is only four per 100,000 live births and the infant mortality rate is five per 1,000 live births.
The project will improve the quality and management of health services, support the collection and use of health data, and develop and introduce policies, practices and training. It will also work to increase demand for health services and healthy behaviours through community engagement on maternal and child health, family planning and nutrition.
AusAID-USAID collaboration on the Alliance for Reproductive, Maternal and
Newborn Health
Australia and the United States, together with the United Kingdom and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have formed an Alliance for Reproductive, Maternal and Newborn Health. The alliance was announced at the United Nations MDG Summit in September 2010. The alliance aims to work with high-need countries to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality, and will support key elements of the United Nations Secretary-General's Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health. It will also focus on supporting country plans to expand family planning and other evidence-based interventions to reduce maternal and newborn deaths.
Enhancing food security
The eradication of extreme poverty and hunger is a key development priority for the Australian and US governments. Some 925 million people around the world suffer from hunger and nearly two-thirds of the world's hungry live in Asia and the Pacific.
Global Agriculture and Food Security Program
The US welcomed Australia's recent (14 October 2010) A$50 million contribution to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, which is a World Bank multilateral trust fund intended to increase investment in long-term food security in developing countries and fill gaps in existing funding.
More information
Australia and the United States partnership to address violence against women globally
Australia and United States–an enduring partnership
Joint press conference with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton