Over the past two years, total funding to Australian NGOs for humanitarian and development assistance work has increased from six to eight percent of Australia’s aid program.

Earlier this month, Smith signed the Development Assistance Partnership Agreements with five major Australian NGOs who work in developing countries – Caritas Australia, ChildFund Australia, Oxfam Australia, Plan International Australia and World Vision Australia, in an effort to address poverty and improve education in developing nations.

This latest contribution, to be managed by AusAID, will provide water, sanitation and hygiene to NGOs through the Civil Society Water, Sanitation and Hygeine Fund.

“Improving access to clean water and sanitation services is crucial to raising the health and living standards of people living in developing countries. Australian NGOs have a strong track record in working to bring about long-term better hygiene and health,” Smith said in a statement.

Information on how NGOs can apply for the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Fund can be found at www.ausaid.gov.au

Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith announced the funding after the APEC Ministerial Meeting in Singapore last week, acknowledging that trade and economic growth were the most effective means to address poverty.

In a statement, he said: “This Australian development assistance is designed to help developing economies better engage with the multilateral trading system and regional trade initiatives.”

Of the amount, $3 million has been allocated to train officials in regional economies on World Trade Organisation law. The remaining $1 million is for development activities that support APEC’s objectives of trade liberalisation and facilitation, administered through the AusAID APEC Public Sector Linkages Program (PSLP).

The Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Tobruk departed Sydney yesterday carrying a range of goods, equipment and relief aid destined for the two countries, including a fire truck bound for Samoa donated by the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade  after they learnt one was destroyed in the disaster.

“A large consignment of heavy machinery and donated goods from the Australian community – including the Samoan and Tongan communities in Australia, non-government organisations and several businesses – will also be delivered to both Samoa and Tonga,” said Smith.

Machinery includes earth movers, generators and cement mixers, which will assist in clearing debris and rebuilding communities on the islands.

Australia assistance to Samoa and Tonga now stands at $13 million.

Zoellick said rising demand for aid had seen the bank cut its lending, with the possibility that only the very poorest countries would receive financial assistance.

“As we start to get towards the middle of next year, we are going to start to face some serious constraints, and we would have to ration and obviously focus on the lowest-income countries,” Zoellick said. “These are difficult times for governments, and all their budgets are stretched.”

While the bank had been well-capitalised prior to the global economic downturn, demands from low and middle-income countries had exceeded its US$100 billion threshold for financial provisions over three years.

The date was chosen to mark the sixth anniversary of the death of United Nations diplomat Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, who served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Iraq.

Vieira de Mello and 21 others were killed when bombs hit the UN building in Iraq on August 19, 2003.

“World Humanitarian Day allows us to reflect on the contribution aid workers make to alleviate the suffering of the world’s poorest, and the ultimate sacrifice made by some,” said Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith.

“In 2008, 260 aid workers were killed, kidnapped or seriously injured in the line of their work. The vast majority of aid workers killed in that period came from the communities they were trying to help. Australia is working actively within the United Nations to achieve greater protection for humanitarian workers.”

UN Humanitarian Affairs head John Holmes says donor countries have contributed US$4.6 billion of the US$9.5 billion target for this year. In previous years, funding has been as low as 23 percent of requirements after six months.

“Funding for these appeals so far in 2009 is the best ever at mid-year both in absolute terms and as a percentage of requirements,” said Holmes.

“The good news is that despite the global recession, funding from governments at least has been maintained for humanitarian needs, despite the increased needs.”

‘Aid for trade’ includes foreign investment into infrastructure so that developing countries can participate in global trade liberalisation. However, many projects have stalled due to lack of finance following the global financial fallout.

A report jointly issued by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) pinpointed ‘aid for trade’ as instrumental in global economic recovery.

The report called for “special crisis-related efforts” to ensure medium-term aid.

The organisation’s general director Jacques Diouf says the record number of people receiving less that 1,800 calories a day is a concern for all: “Food security is a matter of peace and security in the world.”

Some food prices in underdeveloped and developing countries have dropped by up to 14 percent, but many staple foods have retained their price.

Food production is also a concern; excluding China, India and Brazil, food in developing countries rose just 0.4 percent, a figure dwarfed by an increase in population. Poor infrastructure and poor climate conditions have exacerbated the problems, says Diouf.

Diouf says production will need to double by 2050 just to meet demand.

The director also called for an increase in development aid to agriculture, which has dropped from 17 percent to three percent since the 1970s: “There is no way we will solve the problem of food security in the world if we stay in this situation, we need to go back to 17 percent.”

“The collapsing world economy, with its dire consequences especially for developing countries, will see more and more people taking a chance on a better life in rich nations like Australia,” writes Ritchie, in a piece for ABC News Online.

Ritchie fears that commitments like the G20′s Millennium Development Goals, which aimed to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015, may be swept under the rug because of the global economic crisis.

“From the perspective of the world’s poor, any way of boosting the amount of aid, especially at this critical time, must be worth pursuing,” he believes.