AusAID is too focused on advancing strategic interests rather than assisting the poor, public submissions to the independent review of the Australian aid program say.
“Australia’s aid program should focus on achieving poverty alleviation and sustainable development in accordance with the needs and priorities of recipient communities,” said James Goodman, an associate professor at the University of Technology Sydney, in his Feb. 1 written submission to the review panel.
The public submissions, which are published on the website of the Independent Review of Aid Effectiveness, form part of the aid reform campaign by Australian non-governmental organization AID/WATCH.
The submissions also call for AusAID to be set up as a separate department with a cabinet level minister of international development. The agency is currently within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
