Independent Review Attributes Achievements of AusAID-Bangladesh to Partnership with BRAC

Last year, the Australian Government commissioned an independent review of its overseas aid program, AusAID, to examine the effectiveness of the current program and recommend improvements. The study’s findings, which were published in an April 2011 report, found that AusAID’s overall performance was effective, particularly in Bangladesh where it has delivered key improvements in education, health, and reducing extreme poverty. The review cites that these results have been achieved through a range of partnerships with NGOs, most notably BRAC. In a resounding endorsement, the review panel argued that “BRAC is a good example of an effective local NGO that Australia can confidently support.”

Key achievements from the Australian-BRAC partnership in Bangladesh include:

• • Reduced maternal mortality rates of 15 percent across 11 districts, by improving skills and support for 16,200 community workers and volunteers to care for women during childbirth.

• Better access to primary and pre-primary school for 1.5 million children who otherwise would not have attended school–65% of these were girls.

• 2.4 million people (mainly women and children) lifted out of extreme poverty through complementary health skills training and livelihood support activities.

BRAC received $30.4 million in funding from the Australian government in 2009-2010. As the review extolled,”BRAC’s success has been built on its knowledge and understanding of poverty, and its strong focus on women and girls. Its effort in microfinance have helped more than four million people access credit.”

Following the positive results of the review panel, Australia increased its aid to Asia and Africa. Overall, the government plans on increasing aid by o.5% of GNI in 2015-2016, in line with its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).