‘Lost decade?’ report launched in Port Moresby
Yesterday, together with PNG’s National Research Institute (NRI), we released a report based on two surveys a decade apart of 360 primary schools and health clinics across PNG, from the national capital to the most remote districts.
The report, A lost decade? Service delivery and reforms in Papua New Guinea 2002-2012, shows that PNG’s primary schools have expanded rapidly over the last decade, but that fewer services are now provided by its health clinics. It argues that differences in financing, governance, workforce management and agency (church versus government) explain the differences in performance between sectors, provinces and facilities.
The report was launched by the PNG Secretary of Education, Dr Michael Tapo, and generated extensive media coverage (for example here and here).
Download the report or a summary here, or read a blog post on some of the findings. The report is a product of the joint NRI-ANU Promoting Effective Public Expenditure project.
Oxfam’s International Director to speak on inequality
Oxfam International’s Executive Director Winnie Byanyima will visit Australia next month to draw attention to rising inequality and urge G20 leaders to take action. In an event hosted by the Development Policy Centre on 12 November (12.30pm, Molonglo Theatre), Ms Byanyima will speak on the risk that extreme economic inequality poses to social stability and the strength and sustainability of economic growth itself. Ms Byanyima is a former grass-roots activist, human rights advocate, and senior international public servant.
More details and registration available here.
Sam Koim to discuss PNG corruption fight at ANU
Not one to shy away from the headlines, Sam Koim, the chairman of PNG’s Taskforce Sweep, has been an outspoken critic of the lack of action on corruption in Papua New Guinea, including Australia’s inaction on money laundering.
Taskforce Sweep was ordered to disband this year after Prime Minister Peter O’Neill was served with an arrest warrant over his alleged role in a corruption scandal. But it continues to operate in an increasingly difficult environment. In a seminar on 27 November, Sam Koim will speak about his challenging work. More details and registrations here.
2015 Australasian Aid Conference update
We have a new speaker to add to the line-up for the 2015 Australasian Aid Conference. Fidelis Magalhães, Chief of Staff to the President of Timor-Leste, will be joining our high-level panel on recipient perspectives on aid. He joins those we have already announced, here.
The call for papers for the Conference also closed this week, with close to 100 submissions, nearly double the number received last year. Thanks to all of those who have submitted.
A reminder: early-bird pricing for registration ends on 21 November. Register here.
Upcoming events
The rise of inequality and the new economic development consensus
Oxfam International’s Executive Director Winnie Byanyima will visit Australia to draw attention to rising inequality and urge G20 leaders to take action. She will speak at ANU on 12 November. Register here.
The challenges of fighting corruption in Papua New Guinea
Sam Koim, chairman of Taskforce Sweep, will talk about the tough work of fighting corruption in PNG on 27 November. Register here.
2015 Australasian Aid Conference
Our annual aid conference will be held on 12-13 February 2015. We are now calling for papers and registrations are open, with early bird pricing until 21 November. For details, visit the website.
Blog highlights
Comments have heated up on the aid complexity debate.
How can capacity development work in economic policy agencies?
Dame Carol Kidu talks gender violence and social change in PNG.
Australian aid and Ebola: what are the lessons?
On the blog
Unique data set shows how to make service delivery work in Papua New Guinea by Stephen Howes, Andrew Anton Mako, Anthony Swan, Grant Walton, Thomas Webster and Colin Wiltshire.
Dame Carol Kidu on why things are getting tougher for PNG’s women by Carol Kidu and Ashlee Betteridge.
What has happened to Papua New Guinea’s sovereign wealth fund? By David Osborne.
Does complexity thinking have anything to offer the complicated world of aid? By Terence Wood.
Papua New Guinea monetary policy – a very slippery slope? By Paul Flanagan.
Voice and agency: Jeni Klugman on the World Bank’s gender empowerment report by Jeni Klugman and Ashlee Betteridge.
Capacity development in economic policy agencies by Harry Greenwell and Bede Moore.
NGOs, climate aid, and China’s change of heart by Priyanka Sunder.
Five lessons for Australian aid from the Ebola crisis by Joel Negin.
In brief
Australian aid for the Gavi Vaccine Alliance — additional yes, more no
Plibersek: AusAID to return only if Coalition has a single term
This is the fortnightly newsletter of the Development Policy Centre at Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, published every second Friday.
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