Myanmar set to benefit from direct Australian aid

After around two-and-a-half decades of isolation, Myanmar may soon be in a position to receive direct developmental aid funds from Australia. Currently Australian aid to Myanmar, also known as Burma, is delivered through multilateral groups such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and non-government organisations. But AusAID director-general Peter Baxter told a recent Senate estimates hearing about new plans to work directly with the Myanmar government. "We are hoping that over the coming period we will be able to have a discussion with the Burmese authorities about how we might commence working with them," he said. "Along with other donors we are currently looking at how we can particularly support the reform minded elements of the Burmese government." Education is the current focus of developmental aid to the country. In a 2012 visit for Myanmar, Foreign Minister Bob Carr announced a new education package where Australia funds teacher training, school meals programs and measures to boost school attendance. "Education is the flagship of our aid program in Myanmar," Senator Carr said. But such funding is not direct and as yet there has been no change in policy in relation to direct funding for Myanmar authorities, according to Mr Baxter. "We have not moved away from our current methodology of delivering our program through trusted multilateral and NGO partners," he said. Direct Myanmar aid needs careful planning With a large number of visitors to Myanmar over the past 12 months, there has been a willingness to increase levels of assistance from current low levels, Mr Baxter said. "But there needs to be careful thought about how that is done," he said. Education was key, he said, citing a pilot program of scholarships that started two years ago. "And certainly Burma will need more trained people within government to deal with its relevant issues as it continues its reform process and donor assistance increases," he said. Burma will need more trained people within government to deal with its relevant issues. AusAID director-general Peter Baxter Ensuing aid reaches its target will remain an issue, he added. "We have an increasing numbers of AusAID staff in Burma who go out on monitoring visits and physically look at the programs that we are funding and make sure that they are being delivered." Australian aid to Myanmar stands at $64.2 million this year, rising to $82.8 million in 2013-14. But future aid could be jeopardised by ethnic violence. Senator Carr remains concerned about ethnic violence in Rakhine state, which has claimed 192 lives and left 140,000 people homeless. He will travel to Myanmar next month for bilateral discussion with president Thein Sein and foreign minister Wunna.