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Evaluation of Australian Aid to Health Service Delivery
ODE's evaluation, Australian aid to health service delivery in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, examines Australian assistance to the health sector from the late 1990s to the present, covering over half-a-billion dollars of aid. Evaluations of education and water and sanitation are to follow.
The evaluation findings raise important issues about how aid is delivered in fragile environments and how it can most effectively support basic services for the poor. It sets out a compelling case for how the Australian aid program should address the recommendations and highlights where action is already underway.
The evaluation finds that the effectiveness of Australia's contribution to improved health service delivery has been mixed. Some notable achievements include:
- keeping management and basic services in the Solomon Islands functioning during conflict and subsequently providing a basis for recovery of health services post conflict;
- ensuring adequate drug supplies for facilities in PNG when local drug supply systems failed;
- improving the distribution of health spending in PNG to assist remote communities; and
- contributing significantly to the delivery of services in Vanuatu through training village health workers.
But these successes are balanced against approaches that have limited the potential impact of Australian assistance, such as an overly cautious approach to risk management. The evaluation recognises that health reforms are complex and that achieving results is a challenge for all donors