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Essay: ‘End COVID For All’ and the five surprises on aid

End COVID for all graphic

TIM COSTELLO, executive director of Micah Australia and spokesperson for the ‘End COVID For All’ campaign, applauds recent Australian Government decisions to help the nation’s regional neighbours through the COVID-19 crisis…

Every now and then in the Australian political landscape there are decisions that mark us a generous and compassionate nation. 

Over the course of the past few months, we have seen not just one, but five such decisions. 

Five decisions that have seen our government step up to help our regional neighbours through the COVID-19 crisis. 

Micah has been honoured to help lead the ‘End COVID For All’ campaign, bringing together voices from not just the aid sector, but business, civil society, community and faith groups, to show support for our government assisting vulnerable nations. 

We launched this in early July of this year and have seen more than 25,000 Australians sign on to the campaign. 

End COVID for all graphic

A graphic from the #End COVID For All campaign.

 

“The response from the church has been wonderful. And to see so many churches and Christian organisations jump on board with the campaign was inspiring.” 

The response from the church has been wonderful. And to see so many churches and Christian organisations jump on board with the campaign was inspiring. 

From Hillsong and Planet Shakers to the Carmelites, Uniting Church in Australia, Bible Society Australia, Australian Baptist Ministries, Churches of Christ in Australia and Anglican Deaconess Ministries to name just a few. 

Churches ran events and held prayer vigils. They wrote letters to their local MPs, shared the content online and took part in our ‘mask up’ event online.

And as we all came together across the nation to raise our voice we have found ourselves in the middle of some extremely positive announcements on aid.

Here are what I have called the five ‘pleasant surprises’ recapped: 

1. $A80 million to COVAX AMC 
In August, it was announced that $A80 million would be contributed to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment to ensure vulnerable countries in Pacific and South-East Asia get access to a COVID-19 vaccine. The AMC will address the acute phase of the pandemic and will help ensure that healthcare workers and vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, have access. In addition to this, in September, $A123 million was announced for the COVAX Facility. The COVAX Facility helps level the playing field and ensures lower-income countries also get fair and equitable access to any future vaccines. And through this announcement, Australia announced it will help to ensure access for the Pacific and South-East Asia. While this will mainly be funded through the health budget, it’s still important to recognise.

2. $A304.7 million for the Pacific and Timor-Leste The Federal Budget announced on 6th October, included $A304.7 million to assist the Pacific and Timor-Leste with the social and economic impacts of the pandemic. This was announced as a ‘temporary and targeted initiative’, but has been counted as Official Development Assistance. It will be rolled out over two years. 

3. $A500 million for the Vaccine Access Initiative  In late October, $A500 million was committed to the Vaccine Access Initiative, to ensure access to a safe and effective vaccine for the Pacific and Timor-Leste. This funding will be rolled out over three years. It will provide full immunisation coverage for the Pacific, and significant coverage for South-East Asia. This was an announcement of significant and scale unlike we have seen for a while. It’s an historic leadership decision which will promote security, stability and prosperity in our immediate region. 

A D V E R T I S E M E N T


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4. $A1.37 billion loan for Indonesia 
And then, Australia announced we would be offering a $A1.37 billion loan to Indonesia, a country which is truly facing horrific circumstances due to the pandemic. The loan is repayable over 15 years and will help the nation combat COVID-19 and also boost the country’s economic recovery. It will be used to support Indonesia’s budget financing for 2020 which is focused on managing the COVID-19 crisis and economic recovery programs. 

5. $A550 million package for South-East Asia 
Lastly, a few weeks ago Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced at the ASEAN Summit that Australia would be committing to $A550 million for new development, security and economic programs in South-East Asia. It includes: 
• $A21 million dollars to the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases; 
• $A24 million towards the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria;
• $A70 million for Resilience and Recovery in South-East Asia; and,
• $A232 million dollar package for the Mekong, focused on the environment, infrastructure, cyber and critical technologies, and scholarships. 

 

 

Overall, the Federal Government has boosted Australia’s support to our regional neighbours by more than $A1.3 billion. 

This is the first set of increases to international development financing by an Australian Government in eight years.

That is remarkable.

It is a sure sign of Australia stepping up to help our regional neigbours at this time. The government, particularly Foreign Minister Marise Payne, and Minister for International Development and the Pacific Alex Hawke, are to be commended for their work on these commitments.

We know there is much more work to do.

We must continue to face outwards and play our part in the region;at a time when our neighbours need our generosity and leadership more than ever.

But it’s good to stop and take stock of what has happened, thanks to the advocacy of many.

Our collective voice does make a difference for those living in poverty.

Tim Costello is executive director of Micah Australia – a key supporter of the #EndCOVIDForAll campaign – and a spokesperson for the campaign. Tim is also a Sight Advisory Board member.

 

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