Aid Themes Overview

The Australian aid program is organised around four interlinked themes:

accelerating economic growth
fostering functioning and effective states
investing in people
promoting regional stability and cooperation.

Generating shared and sustainable economic growth is the single most important objective for the Asia-Pacific region over the next ten years. The Australian aid program encourages economic growth by:

Improving the policy environment for growth
Promoting trade
Infrastructure development, rural development and building skilled workforces
Addressing the environmental challenges to growth including management of fresh water resources.

Fostering functioning states is essential because appropriate and effective machinery of government is the basis for prosperity. Sound policies and institutions are essential for growth and development.

Investing in people (health and education) provides the opportunity for all citizens, especially the poor, to participate in the economy. Health and education enable the poor to participate in growth, make the workforce more productive, and lead to a better informed citizenry able to demand better government performance

Regional stability and cooperation is becoming increasingly important in a world in which cooperation between nation states is needed to address trans-boundary threats such as pandemics, disasters and transnational crime. Stability is also needed for countries to benefit from the opportunities offered by by economic integration.

See also Gender equality, an overarching theme of Australia's aid program.