Afghanistan

Afghanistan is with 50% of its population are living on approximately less than USD $1 per day, is one of the most impoverished countries in the world (Department for International Development, 2010). In addition, the country is also far off from achieving all of its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (Bennett, Alexander, Saltmarshe, Phillipson, & Marsden, 2009).

Afghanistan is a major producer of the opium; it produces 87% of the world’s supply of opium. The production of opium also makes up a large portion of the country’s GDP, rendering the country’s economy dependent on the production of opium (Asian Development Bank, 2005; Department for International Development, 2010). However, despite its contribution to the economy of Afghanistan, the production of opium creates a myriad of social problems which creates challenges to the countries development, such as:

• · Organized Crime
• · Insecurity
• · Corruption
• · Addiction
• · HIV/AIDS (Asian Development Bank, 2005, p. para. 12)

Recommendation

One of the reasons the farmers in Afghanistan cultivates opium is due to the high economic returns as compared to other cash crops (Asian Development Bank, 2005). As such, one of the ways in which to cut-down and subsequently, eliminate opium production is to encourage farmers to stop producing opium by introducing more efficient ways of cultivating other cash crops that would provide them with similar economic returns. For example, farmers could be introduced to more effective and efficient agricultural practices such as crop rotation, so that they could have multiple harvests of different crops through the year while at the same time not sacrificing the fertility of the crop land.

The reduction and gradual shift away from the cultivation of opium may help path the way on which the social ills listed above could be tackled and resolve.

Asian Development Bank. (2005, December). Development challenges. Retrieved June 4, 2010, from Asian Development Bank: http://www.adb.org/Documents/Periodicals/ADB_Review/2005/vol37-6/dev-challenges.asp

Bennett, J., Alexander, J., Saltmarshe, D., Phillipson, R., & Marsden, P. (2009, May). Evaluation of DFID's country programmes: Afghanistan 2002-2007. Retrieved June 4, 2010, from Department fo International Development: ww.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications1/evaluation/afghan-eval-summary.pdf

Department for International Development. (2010). Afganistan. Retrieved Jun 4, 2010, from DFID: Department for Internation Development: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Where-we-work/Asia-South/Afghanistan/

By Zhi Qiang

Shaun's Assignment
International development assistance CHALLENGE or FAILURE due to location or exclusion.
Write a research blog about real challenges or failures in international aid delivery because of reasons related to the organization itself, or because of the conditions of the area in which it is working. You should thoroughly research the problems and provide ideas as to why the challenge or failure occurred.

Unless the United Nations is allowed to expand and convert (“re-hat”) some of the existing AU force of 7,000 troops in Darfur to the 20,000 peacekeepers called for in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1706, passed on August 31, "the people of Darfur will face catastrophe," says the USAID Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, Michael Hess.

For this assignment I will write about USAID’s challenge to deliver aid to Darfur in Sudan.

Situation
According to change.org, an online hub for social change, Darfur is ranked as the third most difficult place to deliver aid to. The reason being that there have been long lasting clashes occurred in the western region of Darfur in the early 1970s between the pastoral tribes. The rebels accused the central government of neglecting the Darfur region economically, although there is uncertainty regarding the objectives of the rebels and whether they merely seek an improved position for Darfur within Sudan or outright secession. Both the government and the rebels have been accused of atrocities in this war, although most of the blame has fallen on Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, which are armed men appointed by the Al Saddiq Al Mahdi administration to stop the longstanding chaotic disputes between Darfur tribes.



Adeline's Post
Challenges faced by World Food Programme in providing food aids to people in Pakistan.

The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has invested more than US$1.5 billion since the 1986, assisting generations of Pakistan’s poorest citizens.
WFP has been involved in the response to the complexity of food security challenges, assistance encompasses emergency and also recovery and developmental components of Pakistan to help the most vulnerable people in the country – women and children. There are a few factors that pose as threats to the food security in Pakistan. These are the (1) earthquakes, (2) poverty, (3) extreme environmental conditions and (4) low education levels.

There are several emergency programmes such as “Food Assistance to Internally Displaced and Conflict-Affected Persons in NWFP and FATA”, “Assistance to Vulnerable Populations Affected by High Food Prices” and other country programmes by the WFP that aims to improve access to food that can enable women and girls to take advantage of developmental opportunities and also contribute to an improvement of household food security, while addressing the health and nutrition needs of women and children, and promoting basic education.

Although these programmes have been successful so far, there are still difficulties in providing food aids to the citizens of Pakistan, especially to women. This is because the country is of strong Muslim religious background and the men dominate the society. Giving food to women and focusing on women and girls rather than boys will not be effective as it may lead to men’s opposition and resentment. This is challenge for WFP when it comes to providing food aids to the most vulnerable in Pakistan.

Since this involves food security, perhaps by bringing men into the process will lessen the challenges that WFP may face. Targeting the family as a unit can better reinforce food security for the household and really benefit the citizens of Pakistan as a whole.
On the other hand, Pakistan is greatly affected by earthquakes and extreme environmental conditions. In 2005, a deadly earthquake struck Pakistan and 3 million people were left homeless. There were also floods in recent years that have killed many people. The citizens of Pakistan needed more help than what was given.

Recently, on 10 March 2010, six aid workers from World Vision International were murdered while working in the earthquake area to assist survivors. That was followed by a suicide attack in October 2009 on the main office in Islamabad of the WFP that killed five workers.
Pakistan is also facing displacement crisis caused by military incursions. More than 2.2 million people were internally displaced.

The biggest challenge for WFP is not in providing aid, but for its aid to be accepted. The problem lies with the location that aid is being provided. Pakistan is a place that faces many problems due to natural disaster and conflicts that caused hurt to the citizens. It is possible to provide aids to the victims of earthquake, but it is difficult to bring these aids to the citizen, especially when the lives of aid workers are endangered.

It is difficult for WFP’s food aids to reach the Pakistanis as many regions are complicated by danger of guerilla attacks. Although the government tries to help in delivering these aids, they are also vulnerable to attacks by the Taliban. This is because the Taliban’s attitude towards aids was often suspicious and most of the foreign donors and aid workers are non-Muslims. When such violent incidents occur, the food aids that were meant for the citizens do not get transported and it may also be wasted.

It is not an easy to overcome this big challenge that WFP and most international aid agencies face. There are a few recommendations that may help WFP to overcome the challenge. When sending food aids over to Pakistan, the aids can be sent to places in Pakistan where it is much safer even if it does not reach the citizens directly. Perhaps WFP can work with other organizations to later transport the aids directly to the citizens with the help of intermediaries. Another recommendation can be to work with organizations that are already situated in Pakistan and are within the citizens. Food aids can be sent to these organizations or the aid workers can join the organizations that are already providing aids to the citizen. By working with organizations, it can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of food aids reaching the citizens. Lastly, if food aids is unable to reach the citizens, conceivably, WFP can provide monetary support to other organizations that are able to bring aids to the people more effectively.






http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/images/2010/01/17/image6107797x.jpg

I will be discussing on the challenges faced by US in the provision of aid to Haiti that resulted from a poor organizational practice.

Let me start by giving a background of Haiti. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Over 80 percent of people in Haiti live in abject poverty. Over half the population lives on less than a dollar a day. Over 80 percent of the people do not get the minimum daily ration of food as defined by the World Health Organization. Less than 45 percent have access to potable water. Life expectancy in Haiti is 53 years. Only one in every 100,000 Haitians has access to a physician. Being plagued by political violence all its years, in May 2006, Haiti was finally put under control as it inaugurated a democratically elected president and parliament.
Unfortunately, a massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010 which called a catastrophe in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. An alarming 100,000 people were dead within 60 seconds; this catastrophe is indeed a nightmare for the Haitians. Having such detrimental effects, Haiti required plentiful international aid assistance to help them tide over this nightmare.

Being less than a 100miles away from Haiti, US failed to deliver the food, water, medical supplies, and rescue teams and medical personnel that Haiti needed desperately during the first few days after the earthquake struck Haiti. It was only a week after the earthquake, on January 18, that the first US airdrop of food and water were made. Also, it was reported that the tons of supplies were stacked up at the airports, not moving after three days since the earthquake happened.
Why did US experience delay in giving aid to Haiti? The cause of the delay can be mapped up by a few factors such as Haiti’s main demolished seaport, a congested one-runway airport, road congestions and a shattered communication system.


http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/img/news/2010/800px-Haitian_Port_Damage1.jpg
With a demolished seaport, there were no land points for ships which were carrying supplies for Haiti such as humanitarian aid, food, water, rice, beans, oil, MREs (Meals, Ready to Eat), USAID food packages, construction materials and tents.


http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/01/201011531716311291.html


The downfall of the seaport has made aid bottleneck at Haiti airport as it was an impossible task for such a small airport to coordinate such large numbers of aircrafts. The arriving aircraft have been hampered a lack of staircases used to access the planes and allow crews to disembark. Moreover doctors, sniffer dogs, troops and rescue workers had to contend with airport congestion, limited jet fuel for return flights and an airport without an air traffic control tower or working radar as the tower had collapsed when the massive earthquake struck Haiti.





http://sydsvenskan-img.se/archive/00337/sxe32426_337906a.jpg

Even after the relief teams have managed to unload the supplies from the aircraft, the road posed created another problem for them as it was filled with debris or quake survivors seeking shelter. Adding to this set of problems will be the shattered communication system. Because of the earthquake, communications were disrupted as electricity supplies were cut off at certain parts of Haiti; this made it impossible to determine the number of casualties. Therefore, relief teams were unable to get a clear picture of what is going on in Haiti. In a nutshell, we can see that Haiti’s air, road and sea were all affected badly by the earthquake.

Now, I will like to provide a few recommendations on how these problems may be curbed. First of all, I think that there should be an expansion of the airport in Haiti. By doing so, it will not only assist Haiti in handling emergencies but also create economic opportunities in the long run, as a new airport will facilitate travel and boost business opportunities too. Secondly, sophisticated military vehicles can be deployed to facilitate aid provision in the rough roads of Haiti. These military vehicles can be used for defense purposes too. Thirdly, wireless network can be installed at all parts of Haiti to speed up communications and information will then be conveyed efficiently. Furthermore, local disaster workers in Haiti should all be equipped with emergency preparedness skills such as emergency teamwork. This is because during a rescue mission, you can never work alone. Rescue workers have to depend on each other and listen to instructions promptly in order for coordination to go smoothly. Besides, crisis coaching is essential too. Crisis coaches are practiced when you are instructed to lead a group of refugees to a safe location. This is not an easy task at all as most of the Haitian survivors have been traumatized by the earthquake; hence rescue workers are required to cope with the emotional side of disaster victims too. I believe that emergency preparedness is essential especially in disaster-stricken areas like Haiti.

In conclusion, I feel that US can increase their organizational practice efficiency by creating contingency plans as you will never know when disaster will strike again, but will never be afraid if you are prepared for it.

Resources

• https://www.cia.gov/library/publications//the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html

• http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/01/14/haiti-earthquake-left-100-000-dead-in-60-seconds-and-toll-could-reach-500-000-115875-21965474/

• http://www.rwor.org/a/189online/Haiti-en.html
• http://www.informationdissemination.net/2010/01/calm-before-storm-in-haiti.html

• http://www.soulwork.net/emergency.htm

• http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/01/201011531716311291.html



Chengxi's
International development assistance CHALLENGE or FAILURE due to location or exclusion

In the past decades, the Gaza Strip has been in conflict and unrest. Here is an overview of events.

A look at dates and events in the recent history of the Gaza Strip, home today to 1.5 million Palestinians:
_1967: Israel seizes control of the Gaza Strip from Egypt during the 1967 Mideast war and begins to establish settlements there.

_1971: Israel's military conducts harsh campaign to pacify Gaza and defeat armed militants.

_1987: The first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, known as the intifada, erupts.

_1994: Under the interim Israel-Palestinian peace accords, Israel transfers some power in Gaza to the newly formed Palestinian Authority. The Israeli military withdraws from population centers but retains control of borders and settlements.

_2000: The second Palestinian uprising erupts. Palestinian militants begin firing rockets from Gaza into Israel.

_2005: Israel evacuates all its settlements in Gaza and unilaterally withdraws its forces.

_2006: The Islamic militant group Hamas wins Palestinian parliamentary elections. Western powers declare Hamas a terrorist group. Internal Palestinian violence worsens and rocket fire into Israel increases.

_2007: Hamas wrests control of Gaza from the Western-backed Fatah movement in bloody street battles. Israel closes its border with Gaza and, along with Egypt, imposes a blockade.

_August 2008: The first boat sponsored by a pro-Palestinian group called Free Gaza reaches the territory. Five more boats follow before Israeli forces began to intervene.

_December 2008: Israel invades Gaza to try to halt years of rocket fire at Israeli towns. About 1,400 Palestinians are killed, many of them civilians.

_April 2009: An Israeli navy vessel collides with a Free Gaza boat steaming toward Gaza, then tows the boat to an Israeli port. Two more flotillas fail to reach Gaza in 2009.

_May 30, 2010: Israel intercepts six boats sponsored by Free Gaza and a Turkish NGO in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade. Clashes between naval commandos and activists result in dozens of casualties.



I'll talk about the International aid to Palestinians.

Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip receive on of the highest level of aid in the world. Aid has been offered to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and other Palestinian Non-governmental Organizations (PNGOs) by the international community, including International Non-governmental Organizations (INGOs). The entities that provide aid to the Palestinians are categorized into seven groups: the Arab nations, the European Union, the United States, Japan, international institutions (including agencies of the UN system), European countries, and other nations.

In the history of events, it became obvious why aid was different to deliver to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

War between the Israeli and Palestinians caused much problems within the Gaza Strip.

Due to the violence and military level in these areas, aid that was allowed was limited.

On June 1, 2010, Israel launched a deadly attack on a convoy of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. This caused a casualty of 16 deaths.



Acts of violence made it nearly impossible to bring humanitarian aid within the Gaza Strip itself.

Through the decades of unrest, the area has become unstable for any form of sustainable development.


RECOMMENDATIONS
Although talks have been arranged with the UN, European Union, and representatives from Israel, they have not been effective in negotiating a leeway for humanitarian aid to be available in the Gaza War.

As such, I would recommend that UN utilises its peacekeeping forces to put a stop to the crossfires, and arrange for a treaty meeting amongst the nations within the Gaza Strip.

Organisations should arrange talks with the government of Israel and come to a compromise so that humanitarian aid can be brought into the war zones to help the innocent civilians.

The issue of the highest priority would be getting Israel to open up and allow humanitarian aid to the war zones.

Proper connections with their local support groups are needed to prevent any miscommunication in the land foreign to many.



Kay Yong's
International development assistance CHALLENGE or FAILURE due to location or exclusion

Failures and challenges in Cambodia

As a result of the large amount foreign developments fund that has been flowing into Cambodia for the past years, it “created a dependency culture and encouraged political irresponsibility and corruption” (Al Jazeera , 2008). This meant that instead of helping Cambodians, the foreign aids had caused the Cambodians to be begging and asking for money. This will results in the people not having the motivation to find a job as their countries have abundance amount of aids to help them survive.

Cambodia government has neglected and failed to attain its stated promise of governance
reform. This reform can help Cambodia to come up with a better set of governance so as to ensure a better growth and could help to stop any form of corruptions. (Thun, 2009).
As the political system in Cambodia is unstable, Non-governmental organization are able to register in different ministries. Some NGOs might “register through the Council of Ministers, some with Line Ministries or provincial authorities”. (Riska, n.d.). This has resulted in the government to be unable to track down what organization there are within Cambodia efficient. Being unable to even track what exactly what organizations there are, it is even harder to
monitor what programs have been organized to help the people.

Cambodia is also unable to attract people from the private sector to invest in her. This is due to the lack of skilled manpower that the private sectors demands. “Sustained economic growth cannot be achieved without the supply of skilled manpower that is needed by the private sector.” (Council of development for cambodia, 2002). Foreign direct investment will be able to help produce more jobs which would be able to maintain a better sustainable economic growth.
Underserved infrastructure results in low accessibility for transports, resulting in the access to facilities and aid are lower. (Council of development for cambodia, 2002). For example sanitation could be as low as 8.6 percents in rural areas, compared to 49 percent in urban areas. This will deter aid from reaching the people who need most especially during bad season as it is mentioned that even most tertiary roads are impassable during the wet season.

Recommendation

The most important recommendation is to have people who will monitor how aids are being spent. A set of rules could be clearly defined as to what are the criteria in order for a particular individual to receive aid. One criteria could this could be that in order for an individual to receive aids, he or she must be earning income from somewhere else too. This is to prevent dependency on aids that are given to Cambodia.

While asking governments to make promises, it is also recommended to write out a timeline or a framework. A written document would help to increase the rate of following what has been promised.

Next is to reform the political framework of Cambodia so that assistance will be documented. This would also include the registration of NGOs within Cambodia. Being able to document the organization there are, it can also increase the chances of NGOs (who are serving the same goal) to collaborate with one another as they would have a better knowledge of what other NGOs there are and increasing communications.

Last recommendation is to provide job through construction of infrastructure. Doing so would be able to solve two problems at one goal. These infrastructures would solve the problem of accessibility and also can help to attract more potential foreign investors to invest in Cambodia, promoting economic growth.

If you wish to know more about foreign aid in Cambodia, you can watch the video below too :D







Works Cited
Al Jazeera . (2008, June 17). Foreign aid in Cambodia . Retrieved June 1, 2010, from Al Jazeera English: http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/101east/2008/07/200871613851378258.html
Council of development for cambodia. (2002, May). Cambodia's development challenges and recent developments. Retrieved June 1, 2010, from The council of development for cambodia: http://www.cdc-crdb.gov.kh/cdc/development_coor/cambodia_development.htm
Riska, G. (n.d.). Involvement related to poverty alleviation and watershed management Cambodia. Retrieved June 1, 2010, from Mengkoinfo: http://mekonginfo.org/mrc_en/doclib.nsf/0/B2C7B593F8EBDFDAC725682D000AC04C/$FILE/MAINREPORT.html#part3
Thun, V. (2009, May 2). Rethinking the administration and delivery of foreign aid in Cambodia . Retrieved June 1, 2010, from Peace and conflict monitor: http://www.monitor.upeace.org/archive.cfm?id_article=584



Bernice's Blog on International development assistance
Somalia, is a country currently described and categorized as the world's most dangerous city, as reported 0n MOXNEWS.COM


The most distressing issue for International Aid group is to supplying and delivering aid to those in Somalia. Through videos that i will share later in this post, you will find that for refugees over in Somalia, there are indeed organizations coming down to wanting to deliver their necessities which includes basic health care, water and food; but the process of delivering the aid has always been interrupted by either the Islamic group, Shabab or even pirates from the seas.






Marcus's write up on the Gaza Strip
Conflict in the Gaza Strip

International development assistance CHALLENGE or FAILURE due to location or exclusion

The Gaza Strip is a country which borders on Israel and Egypt. It’s a really small country with a population of about 1.6 million people. Most of which are refugees who fled during the Arab-Israeli war.

An organisation known as Hamas currently rules the Gaza Strip. They are a political organisation with a paramilitary wing that often takes a violent approach to solving its problems.

One of the biggest problems that the Gaza Strip faces is isolation. It’s bordered by Egypt and Israel and both are enemies. Hamas has had disputes and short, intense fighting with Israel and this leads to them not wanting to make peace with each other. Aid arriving from the sea has also been stopped by Israel. Recently there was a case of a raid on the aid arriving in Gaza which resulted in 9 activists being killed.

Another problem faced by the Gaza Strip is their government. Hamas is labelled as a terrorist organisation by the west and hence, little or no aid is provided to them.
The only railway that connects the entire Gaza Strip to Israel has been abandoned and is dysfunctional. Without it, aid cannot be distributed fast. To make matters worse, the airspace of the Gaza Strip is controlled by Israel hence preventing aid from being airdropped.

One recommendation to improve the condition of the Gaza Strip would be to have the United Nations step in to provide security. There is no use in providing aid if you can’t keep it. Making the country sustain itself is another option too. By developing irrigation methods and tools, the Strip will be able to produce their own food.

Having peace talks and a ceasefire with Israel will also be beneficial in developing the Gaza Strip. Finding out the reasons behind Israel’s attacks and boycotts on the Strip will be a step forward in finding a solution to solving the isolation of the country.

Marcus



international system- Julinda
In 2008 May 2 and 3, a cyclone hit Myanmar destroying villages and paddy field, affecting around 2 millions of the population. (alertnet, 2010) The number of dead toll was between 68,833 and 127,990 as estimated by the Red Cross organisation. (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 2008) The government of Myanmar refused to receive the aid from the neighbouring countries and international organisation. This includes necessities like food, water, medicine and blankets and tent.

There are a few reasons why the aid did not reach the beneficiaries. One of the reasons is that the government refuse to accept international aid. Former Asean secretary-general Mr Ong Keng Yong tried to defend ASEAN’s handling of Myanmar cyclone aid issue thought that the Myanmar junta leaders tried to put up a brave front, thinking that they can deal with the disaster as they had done before in the past without the help of foreign aid. (The Straits Times, 2008) They did not really think about the consequences of the victims that are affected by the cyclone instead they care more about their image therefore they did not want to tell the world much.

As they did not update the world with their current situation, it is difficult for the organisation to prepare enough aid to help the victims in the affected area. The foreign aid teams would even have to negotiate with the government to grant them the access to the country. (Othmanzul, 2008) This had obstructed their rescuing plan in the country and leading to more death tolls in the disaster. Mr Yang Razali Kassim, a senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies mentions that “"But the lack of information (in Myanmar) about infrastructure and many things that can help to process and bring the aid in would prove to be a major stumbling block" (Othmanzul, 2008)

When the government started to accept the aid given the various organisations, they stated that they would not want to receive help from the relief workers to distribute the suppliers but they rather distribute it themselves. The aid agencies on the other hand, wanted to coordinate and control their aid. (Mydans, 2008) Another major stumbling block would be the getting the support from the government as in this case, the government is not willing to coordinate with the aid agencies, this would cause delay in the providing the aid to the victims.

From the problems stated above, we can see that it is the government who is not willing to accept the aid and resulted in the failure in delivery aid. Some recommendations that I would suggest is firstly, they can meet the official government to discuss on the plan that the organisation has. The organisation can also work with the government to see on the areas that they need. This would ensure that the government have a clearer plan of what they are intending to do. At the same time, gain the support from the government in the disaster relief.

Secondly, involving the government in the plan will create a sense of ownership to the government. Involvement can be in the form of providing labour to the disaster relief and financially. We can ask the government what they can contribute to the disaster relief in long term. This would also ensure reponsbility from the government.

Bibliography
alertnet. (2010, April 28). Myanmar cyclone. Retrieved June 1, 2010, from http://www.alertnet.org/db/crisisprofiles/MM_STO.htm
Mydans, S. (2008, May 9). UN to resume aid supplies to Myanmar. Retrieved June 1, 2010, from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/world/asia/09iht-09unaid.12730552.html
Othmanzul, Z. (2008, May 8). Will junta allow the world in? Aid groups face a man-made hurdle as Myanmar staggers from nature's fury. Retrieved June 1, 2010, from Today: http://global.factiva.com.libwww3.np.edu.sg/ha/default.aspx
THE NEW YORK TIMES. (2008, May 15). Aid Groups Say Myanmar Food Stolen by Military. Retrieved June 1, 2010, from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/world/asia/15myanmar.html?_r=1
The Straits Times. (2008, May 30). Myanmar: A turning point? Retrieved June 1, 2010, from http://global.factiva.com.libwww3.np.edu.sg/ha/default.aspx



International Systems Blog 2 - Melissa Poh
The international development assistance for Health in impoverished countries faces challenges due to poor organisational structure and practices. Despite the increase in international development assistance for health, trends of diseases are evidently on the rise (Shiffman ,2008) among the low and middle income countries. Due to the inconsistent trends revealed in economic systems, investments in healthcare and education are given the backseat when budget is tight and there is a competition of resources. If healthcare is given the cuts in low and middle income countries, the beneficiaries will potentially increase total health expenditures by 30%, where previous subsidies found to be funded by doctors. The cause of the increase in cost of healthcare in low and middle income countries because 60-80% of their allocated health budgets are dependent on external sources (WHO, 2008). In addition, healthcare in low and middle income countries are less affordable as majority of the population lives below the poverty line and it has been proven that it is expensive to be poor. Transportation of healthcare to these people incurs higher costs due to inaccessibility. Due to a large discrepancy in monthly income between the rich and the poor, the impoverished possess very little purchasing power thus, poses a barrier for development assistance for Health to reach them.

The challenges faced by due to poor organisational structure and practices are as stated below:
1. There is a large number of initiatives focusing on specific diseases or issues instead of sector-wide strengthening.
a. The present setting is considered as incomplete, not synchronised and stirs uncertainty among stakeholders due to the careless handling of diversified initiatives (Sridhar 2009a).
b. There is a lack procedures of communication, transparency, clarification and assessments of operations within countries (Sridhar & Batniji 2008). In addition, they lack long term goals which in turn, questions sustainability.
c. Decisions and implementation of policies adopt the top-down’ approach and donor are driven towards personal benefits rather than the country's actual needs.
d. Turnover rates of health workers are high as other non-governmental organisations offer more attractive remunerations.


2. Lack of attention given to existing health institutions such as World Health Organisation, World Bank, UNICEF, IMF and WTO which results in weakened partnerships.
a. Establishing strong partnerships with reliable organisations ensure that issues that surface would be addressed appropriately. Organisations cannot function alone as they it is not possible to possess all resources.
b. Strengths of partners should be tapped on and tasked to relevant parts of the initiatives to ensure that resources and expertise are fully maximised.
c. Exchange of expertise and information can be accelerated with a larger pool of connections with relevant partner organisations.
3. Donors engage in priority-setting in accordance to personal interest instead of having the organisation’s best interest at heart. In addition, donors fail to report and communicate decisions and changes to stakeholders.
a. The beneficiaries’ needs would never be full met as quality of health assistance provided is compromised.
b. Unfair practices could stir up negative emotions among stakeholders resulting in resources wasted in dealing with conflict of interests.
c. Lack of trust for the people heading the initiatives will discourage people from receiving assistance. Hence, health issues are not addressed and diseases may become more widespread.
4. There is realistic difficulty in meeting rhetoric and funding horizontal interventions.
a. Horizontal interventions firms up the important care systems, develop quality of health systems and attend to basic non-disease problems.
b. Accurate statistics on horizontal intervention factors concerning the population numbers are not provided.
c. There is a lack of performance metric and measurements for assessment of the impact of initiatives.
d. Thus, poses difficulty for donors in projecting financial costs and allocating budget effectively.
5. Limited involvement of developing country governments receiving aid
a. Actual needs of the people in these countries will not be met due to the lack of a needs assessment
b. Country governments will feel intruded as their sense of belonging and knowledge of the best interests of their own country is challenged.
c. Misunderstandings may hurt bilateral ties between countries and aid provided will not be put to best use or may not reach intended beneficiaries due to pride and resistance from recipient country.
Recommendations:

A policy termed ‘country compact’ could be applied where partners function using a framework which adopts a single, focused, cost-efficient, results-oriented national health plan with the purpose of leveling-up the extent of impact. These policies should seek to achieve the health-related Millennium Development Goals targets. In addition, initiatives should be closely aligned to the Paris Declaration Principle on Aid Effectiveness.
To establish and improve connections with international partner organisations, transparency, accountability and accuracy of information provided is essential. In essence, statistics and assessments done on the recipient country and initiatives should reflect thorough analysis of information obtained. Clear interpretation of statistics allow organisation to know how they can offer assistance and allocate budget. Review of initiatives is proving feasibility and effectiveness on a long term basis.
To prevent conflict of interest, there should code of governance for donors and recipient countries to abide to. This is to ensure that both donor and recipient country stand on equal grounds. The rights of both parties will be duly respected and interests duly protected. When boundaries are not crossed, it motivates long term collaboration contributing to further development on both sides.
A set of measurements of the impact of initiatives should be drawn up and agreed by both the donor and recipient. Negotiation and accommodation should be applied by both parties to motivate mutually beneficial agreements.
In response to the lack of involvement of recipient countries, regular meetings should be held to keep involved parties updated. During these meetings, feedback and improvements of initiatives should be raised to better maximise the health assistance provided.



Juo Wi's Blogpost on International development assistance
International development assistance CHALLENGE or FAILURE due to location or exclusion

Introduction

The organization that I have chosen is World Food Program. The country that they are currently providing aid in is Somalia. It is said that Somalia is "one of the most dangerous places in the world" and with "the highest humanitarian need for the size of its population". According to UN reports, Somalia has the highest malnutrition rates in the world. It is not because the government is ineffective, but because there is not much of a government at all. Not only so, half of Somalia's population (3.25 million) is now in need of humanitarian aid, a 77% increase since the start of 2008, while 180,000 children under the age of five in South and Central Somalia are acutely malnourished.

Problems Faced

After looking at the amount of humanitarian need that Somalia requires, let’s look at some of the problems that World Food Program has encountered. First would be piracy in Somalia. In early 2010, WFP was forced to suspend the delivery of food assistance in southern Somalia due to the growing insecurity and threats and unacceptable demands from armed groups in the region. In the year 2008 alone, 36 aid workers were killed. On top of that, in February 2010, Al-Shabab, the Somali Islamist opposition group, has announced it will stop World Food Programme (WFP) operations in Somalia. In response to the ban, WFP insisted that its role in Somalia was “impartial and non political”. Even though Somalia is in need of dire aid, in November 2009, the Shabab imposed 11 conditions on UN agencies and non-government groups working in the country, insisting they stay out of Islamic affairs and pay a tax, or jiziya, of at least 20,000 dollars every six months. This cause WFP to stopped working in southern Somalia in January, announcing it had suspended distribution of food aid after months of attacks and extortion by rebels.

Recommendation

For the recommendations, the first problem to be met will be the piracy. I suggest that WFP work with the United Nations (UN) in tackling this matter. This is because UN would have more manpower and authority in handling the matter as an international organization. UN can make use of Interpol to bring the piracy matter under control. The second matter to tackle would be to gain the trust of the Somali Islamist opposition group, Al-Shabab. To do so, WFP will have to be more transparent in handling the funds used for the food aid. This is because questions have been raised about WFP’s credibility and to a certain point that some people accused WFP of corruption. Both of these recommendations are based on a quote made by Leo van der Velden, WFP’s Deputy Country Director, Somalia. He says: “If we are to operate normally and efficiently, we first need peace.”

Conclusion

In conclusion, the failure of an efficient food aid came about when the benefitting country does not co-operate with the organization that is providing the aid. Therefore, trust between the country and the organization is very important even when in the providing of aid.



Shortage of good ideas or excess unlearnt lessons? What really works in international aid?

Context:
Disaster, retold.

The video begins in Java, Indonesia just after a damaging earthquake rips through the land. The team embarks on a journey to investigate if they can find innovative and effective approaches to deliver aid. In the first scenario, houses have been devastated by the disaster and many are left homeless. It is perceived that 1.5 million people are displaced because of lousy infrastructure and inferior materials used in the construction of their home. While aid pours in, there weren’t many organizations who learnt from the tsunami on Boxing Day 2004. With a need for shelter to sleep under and a place to live in over the long run, these villagers are lost because they do not have the capacity to help themselves. As CARE steps in to intervene, they have decided to use innovative civil engineering so that their presence could be eliminated from the disaster zone if it strikes again a decade later. However, it ceases not long after its implementation…

Part 2 then proceeds to feature: Domes for the world!

Originating from America, a village is filled with domes where they reside in. It is innovative and able to withstand the harsh conditions of weather and terrain. However, there are mixed emotions amongst the people. For one, recipients were chosen through lottery, and doubts surface regarding the durability of the land. Sustainable daily living is also questioned, since rearing of cattle is a way of life.





Failure to learn from the past (practice)

When there is a failure to learn lessons from the past, organizations that intervene shortchange themselves from giving appropriate aid to alleviate the situation. By having no resonance of the past, one enters the situation with totally wrong equipments. Hence, they face repeating issues such as lack of sustainable resources to deliver aid, and approach the operation with same mistakes and inefficiencies. This leads to a malfunction in operational practices. It is recommended that those who bring aid get a good grasp of the ‘territory’ they are going into. This would be to identify what work has been done, what has worked or not worked, and the reasons behind them.

Lack of preparation, lack of collaboration (poor organizational structure)

What could lead to failure of aid delivery would be when an organization’s practices fail in to collaborate with effectively with the locals. Instead of improving the situation, CARE’s voucher system was unable to control the standards of quality expected of local markets. Despite good intentions, there was a lack of successful planning and control. In my opinion, I recommend implementing a top-down approach when international development assistance attempts to provide aid. By collaborating with the political and private sector, substantial goods could be monitored on a macro level, while dedicated.established private organized could be nominated to provide the required materials. At this juncture, there is more control and structure in the handling of aid. Simultaneously, this local sector wide approach promotes harmonization, and enables community development to occur from the stakeholders themselves.

Inadequate resources (location)

Another challenge would be the lack of adequate and appropriate resources to re-build houses. This implies proper infrastructure, equipment, and manpower. To make natters worse, the local market does not distribute reliable materials that can deliver desired results. Hence, it can be concluded that the location has disrupted aid delivery. While locals can provide the great form of help with their advantage of knowing their own landscape and people well, it goes the other way when a lack of equipped materials slows effective aid process.

Neglected beneficiaries (practice)

People are also worried about ‘strings attached’ or any matters pertaining to money as they reside in the dome. Villagers are also seemingly stuck in vacuum as there is no mention if they are required to purchase the land they live on in the long run, or whether they are allowed to sell the domes they are living in. This challenge could be due to a lacking practice of aligning each others intentions into common goals that breed accountability and ownership. In the delivery of aid, the narrator mentions that the most innovative suggestions may not be well-received. On that note, I think clear communication channels and constant feedback could be used to address unforeseen concerns that crop up even after the aid goes into the process of delivery.

Absent needs analysis (practice)

From the video, potential failure can happen due to the lack of a proper needs analysis. That implies the omission of knowing the stakeholders’ needs. Even as they reside in their dome houses, their preferences to ‘live at the east instead of near the river’, and ‘receive money instead’ are still present. Upon further evaluation, this could imply that the location where they are is vulnerable to harsh conditions and difficult landscapes for living. One suggestion for this problem could be engaging the stakeholders in decision making or re-building process. As they sit in the same wagon to alleviate the matter, their inputs (effort, experience) are valuable as they have may have seen what have been ‘tried and tested’.

Poor logistics (poor organizational structure)

One failure from poor organization structure is sloppy logistics. While organization may secure a road map for effective aid, a lack in proper delegation of materials stalls aid delivery almost entirely. In an uncertain, unpredictable situation of disaster relief, one solution could be proper documentation and administration of materials acquired/required. If need be, including some measure financial information could help. In doing so, unnecessary overlapping of resources can be prevented, saving time, costs and energy in the long run.

Conclusion

Through this research, I have gathered that context is highly vital when it comes to international aid delivery. This ‘context’ would mean everything ranging from the analysis of tangible needs, communication with the locals for a better understanding, and appropriate knowledge of culture/motivation to peg the best aid solution with the problem. When one decides to take up the noble task of delivering help, being readily available, prepared, and equipped is mandatory. Or else, like how a villager thought dome homes were amusing, help with good intentions could be perceived as a farce.



Written by Glory Tan, BZSE Year 3.



chuan yu
On December 24th, 2004, mother earth let go an earthquake measuring over 9.1 magnitudes in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The earthquake underwater created giant waves called tsunami. Waves grew to a staggering height of more than 10m tall.

The challenge

Aceh, Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the islands of Sumatra suffered one of the worst natural disasters. The tsunamis left many homeless and many were dead and missing. Many aid agencies rush to Aceh’s rescue, World Vision, Catholic Relief Services, Direct Relief International and many other more agencies. The responses were immense and encouraging. Aids were being flown in daily, more and more medical teams were arriving each day. But the concern and challenges on the ground was whether the aid would be reaching those who are in need of it, how can response teams arrive safely into Aceh.

The GAM or Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, a group seeking independence for the Aceh region from the Indonesia government, stood between the aids and the people that have suffered from the tsunami. The battle with the Indonesia government for independence has been ongoing for decades. It was thought that GAM soldiers would not allow aids to be brought in and that they might hijack the aids and use it for themselves. A BBC news report, reported that the Indonesian army has made it a requirement for aid workers to be registered if they were to wish to work outside of Banda Aceh. This is because the Indonesia army could not guarantee the safety of these workers outside of Banda Aceh. Here is a video of a battle between Indonesian security forces and soldiers from GAM



The solution
Both GAM and the Indonesia government realized the bigger picture and that it is more important that the people of Aceh receive it aids. Hence, the Indonesia government and GAM came to a peace agreement. The tsunami stopped a 30 years long war. With the peace agreement, aid workers could work freely and there were no more worries that aids would be hijacked anymore.

The Indonesian government and GAM put aside their differences and realize that the fighting was pointless, since the peace agreement there was no more fighting and Aceh even had its first ever election. Below is a dialogue from the film “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (IMDB, 2008) between Professor Barnhardt and Klaatu, it goes like this

Professor Barnhardt: There must be alternatives. You must have some technology that could solve our problem.
Klaatu: Your problem is not technology. The problem is you. You lack the will to change.
Professor Barnhardt: Then help us change.
Klaatu: I cannot change your nature. You treat the world as you treat each other.
Professor Barnhardt: But every civilization reaches a crisis point eventually.
Klaatu: Most of them don't make it.
Professor Barnhardt: Yours did. How?
Klaatu: Our sun was dying. We had to evolve in order to survive.
Professor Barnhardt: So it was only when your world was threatened with destruction that you became what you are now.
Klaatu: Yes.
Professor Barnhardt: Well that's where we are. You say we're on the brink of destruction and you're right. But it's only on the brink that people find the will to change. Only at the precipice do we evolve. This is our moment. Don't take it from us; we are close to an answer.
Maybe it true what they writers have wrote. It requires society to reach a point of crisis, and then changes can occur. Put it into situation of the aid agencies, failure and challenges will give the agency more knowledge and experience and help them deal with situations better.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4163517.stm
Chuan yu



Bryan's Blog on International Assistance Development CHALLENGE or FAILURE due to location or exclusion





On 12 May 2008, an earthquake measured at 7.9 on the Richter scale struck the capital of Sichuan, Chengdu. Many buildings in the area collapsed, burying thousands of people under the rubble. Many of them were children, who were attending school at that time. Many blamed the shoddily built school buildings, which were too flimsy and used cheap construction materials.

Many organizations offered their assistance to the Chinese government. One such organization is the Red Cross Society of China, receiving 887 million yuan in donations. In order to create an effective system of management, a local Disaster Management Centre, the Sichuan Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (SFPA) and the Poverty Alleviation Bureaus catered to the organizations which brought in aid to Sichuan. Aid was able to reach areas that were on level ground. However, as many bridges and highways collapsed during the quake, many mountainous areas were inaccessible by land transport. Even the air transport was unable to land in the village areas. Another factor was that China was lacking in the public healthcare system, resulting in numerous citizens without insurance to cover medical costs. The hospitals in the Sichuan area also collapsed during the earthquake.

The other problems that the Red Cross Society of China faced were that the roads leading into Sichuan were made inaccessible due to the congested traffic conditions. The disaster areas also lacked many necessities due to the heavy traffic. The Red Cross Society of China received donated goods that had short expiration lives such as food which expired by the time it reached the earthquake victims. As winter was coming, there was a great need to transport clothing and blankets to a great number of people, increasing the burden on the Red Cross Society.

Problems also occurred for the Red Cross Society of China outside the quake zone. Many cases of fraud happened with the suspects cheating people through fundraising using the organization’s name.

The Red Cross can work with the Chinese Army which was mobilized to send in paratroopers and helicopters into the rural villages in the mountainous areas. Through cooperation, they can land in much needed supplies and medical aid to the earthquake victims. The Chinese government can detour traffic that carries more important and easily expired goods to less congested roads. The Red Cross Society can request for financial donations instead which can purchase items in China, making it much more convenient for transaction. The Red Cross Society of China can issue press releases denying any wrongful intentions of using the funds and clarify that the organization does not authorize any individual fundraising. Most importantly, the Red Cross Society of China can partner itself with other organizations that are in the area to effectively divert aid to places that require the most attention.

Sichuan Earthquake 2008


Sources:
http://www.redcross.org.cn/ywzd/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/china-earthquake
http://gracefulyouth.org/sichuanearthquake.php



Sinyee

ASEAN- The East Timor Crisis

The most difficult challenge to ASEAN’s modalities was the tragic events in East Timor in 1999. ASEAN, and even the ARF, came under severe criticisms for their inability to stem the violence and gross violations of human rights that followed. As noted in many accounts, ASEAN could not initiate any form of conflict preventive action to stop the atrocities that occurred in many parts of the country soon after the East Timorese voted for independence from Indonesia (Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, Inc., 2002, para.22). It was not until the United Nations organized a peacekeeping mission under the framework of the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) that violence was controlled and large-scale humanitarian relief operations could be carried out (Martin, 2001).

Violence started to erupt through large parts in East Timor after Indonesia’s decision on 30 August 1999 to allow the province to have a referendum on its future status – either to become an autonomous province or independent state (Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, 1999, p. 4). During this period, the UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) was established to help prepare East Timor for the referendum. UNAMET comprised 241 international staff, 420 UN volunteers, up to 280 civilian police, and some 4,000 local staff. Within ASEAN, the Philippines contributed to UNAMET by sending civilian police, staff members, and electoral volunteers (Martin, 2001).

In spite the presence of UNAMET, violence escalated and spread throughout East Timor leading to the declaration of martial law on 7 September (Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, 1999). By then, East Timor lost human lives, suffered massive property destruction, while thousands of terrified people were also forcibly displaced to West Timor.

Many governments, either individually or collectively through the UN, urged Indonesia to enforce law and order in East Timor. While there were indeed expressions of concerns coming from ASEAN countries, it took the Australian initiative to offer its troops for a UN peacekeeping force before any international action could begin to stop the violence in East Timor (Dupont, 2000, p. 163 - 170). Even then, it was not until Indonesia consented to an international peacekeeping force in East Timor that ASEAN officials began to discuss their countries’ possible participation in the UN peacekeeping force. Incidentally, discussions took place at the sidelines of APEC Summit in Auckland and prior to that, no ad hoc ASEAN meeting was convened to address what was at that time a spiralling humanitarian crisis in the region (Dupont, 2000,).

The East Timor crisis was viewed by many as a humanitarian disaster waiting to happen and which ASEAN, conscious of its policy of non-intervention, did not do anything to prevent. Although some ASEAN members participated in the INTERFET, its contributions were lost in the barrage of criticisms against the extent to which ASEAN went to “intervene” in what was considered by the organization as an intra-state conflict (Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, 1999). Criticisms were even more strident of the ARF which was silent throughout the crisis. Once again, ASEAN inability to respond to the crisis in East Timor was seen as a litmus test of its inadequacy as a regional institution to act in time of crisis or to prevent crisis from happening.
Recommendations

ASEAN’s lack of capacity to address domestic and regional conflicts was highlighted as a major weakness. In East Timor, ASEAN fell short of what was expected from it, especially during the initial stage of the conflict. It could consider working in any of the following areas:

1. exchange of ideas, information, and other resources with relevant actors/parties,
2. consideration and adoption of early warning tools and mechanisms,
3. establishment of regional mechanisms for peace-building, and
4. institutionalization of regular consultations among ASEAN, the ARF Chair, and the UN Secretary-General.

I proposed that one of the ways to assess its role, as a conflict manager in Southeast Asia, ASEAN has to examine the nature of its mechanisms in managing conflict. Bearing in mind that the mechanisms in this context refers to a broad range of processes, methods, devices, techniques, and strategies employed to resolve or manage conflict, it is important for ASEAN to adopt the constructivist approach on identifying what these mechanisms are in the context of Southeast Asia. Constructivism proved to be a useful framework in explaining the lack or absence of concrete, formal mechanisms in ASEAN since the approach goes beyond the consideration of power and material interest and sensitizes us to the salience of ideational factors, to actors and agents that shape these ideas beyond the state and the intersubjective understanding that take place.

For the association to succeed and in the interest of regional security, its mechanisms must be geared towards engendering a sense community through shared norms and identity – regardless of incremental nature of its results. Even at that time, the importance of process-oriented approaches to regional security was underscored.

The ASEAN way could be extended and transformed into a wider regional process of promoting co-operative security practices, albeit at its most basic, to main regional stability. ASEAN also needs to muster the political will in order to play a larger role in regional peace-building activities. It should be more active in on-going peace-building activities, such as the present negotiations on a Regional Code of Conduct on the South China Sea between ASEAN and China, as well as its role in Cambodia, East Timor, and Myanmar.


References

Dupont. A. (2000), ASEAN's Response to the East Timor Crisis: Australian Journal of International Affairs, Routledge, Australia.

Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. (1999), The East Timor Crisis and Its Consequences. Retrieved 27 May, 2010 from http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1344/MR1344.ch3.pdf

Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, Inc. (2002), Narrative Report on the Seminar on Conflict Prevention and Peace-building in Southeast Asia: Regional Mechanisms, Best Practices and ASEAN-UN Cooperation in the 21st Century. Retrieved 27 May, 2010 from http://www.aseansec.org/un_manila.htm

Martin, I. (2001), Self-Determination in East Timor, International Peace Academy Occasional Paper Series, Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc.: Boulder, CO.



Cynthia: International Assistance Challenges and Recommended Solutions
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti early this year and delivering aid was a challenge to many aid organizations such as USAID, the largest contributor to the relief. Accessibility to the capital (Port-au-Prince) was a major problem as many possible ways were disrupted during the earthquakes. The airport was too small and it is hard to go back to its usual operations with only one runway. Aid assistance is difficult to be delivered as there are only limited spaces for cargos to reach every day. The staff working in the airport were also affected by the earthquake. Either they were the victims or their families are. Fuels for aircraft were lacking and no planes could fly. In addition, another route to Haiti, the main seaport was badly damaged during the earthquake. It was unable to function properly and aid ships could not offload their supplies at the dock. It was expected that the port can only accept vessels in 60 to 90 days even though some aid ships managed to dock. There were no stationary cranes to unload the containers as it is all damaged. Although the U.S managed to take over the airport and seaports, aids are already delayed. The seaport was a major destruction and took a long time to resume. Roads were also blocked with debris and distribution becomes another problem even if supplies can reach the capital. Prior to that, communication was down in the form of telecommunications and internet etc. Communication with other countries with respect to access route details and needs were difficult. Everything was slowed down. Medical personnel will also have problem accessing to the site to treat the victims. With that, more people will die as time pass.

In this context, accessibility was a major problem in delivering aid. Therefore, to avoid such circumstances from happening, there should be contingency plan. Aid supplies can be stored within the country itself so that when disasters happen, they can be mobilised faster. Especially when Haiti is prone to natural disasters, contingency plan is even more essential. Basic needs like food, water can be stored for use for the first few days of disaster before international aid arrive. Also, the Haitians should be equipped with skills like basic first-aid so that at times of crisis; the survivors can save themselves and the community before waiting for help to arrive. Disaster-response training should also be carried out to more staff in Haiti so that aid personnel do not have to fly in from other countries. With that, the remove of debris and corpses can be more efficient; reducing the number of days that the roads are blocked in the capital. Communication problems are difficult to tackle. The systems have to take time to recover. They should have more up-to-date communication systems so that the recovery will not take too long. The Dominican Republic, nearest to Haiti should also prepare themselves for future events like this. They are the ones who can react the fastest and get to Haiti the fastest too.

Cheryl - 10 January
Shumin - 15 January
Chuan Yu - 3 February
Jonathan - 24 February
Grace - 2 March
Alison - 31 March
Adeline - 20 April
Halena - 23 April
Julinda - 9 May
Sheryl - 29 May
Billy - 31 May
Amanda - 4 October
Bernice - 22 July
Francine - 30 July
Bryan - 31 July
Matthew - 31 July
Joshua - 15 August
Janell - 21 August
Sin Yee - 6 September
Ronny - 14 September
Shine - 15 October
Marcus - 5th November
Pei Qing - 10 December
Sheena - 27 December