A group of Pacific Islanders are currently reviewing the effectiveness of Australia’s development aid assistance to the Pacific Islands.

The Review Team is made up of senior officials from the Government of Tonga, Solomon Islands, the Asian Development Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and a civil society representative from the Pacific Disability Forum, said a statement from the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.

The Deputy Secretary General, Cristelle Pratt said that a key focus of such a review is for development partners to gain greater insight into how well their policies, procedures and actions support Forum Island Countries’ development efforts, and how they can be improved.

“It is also an opportunity for Forum Island Countries and the region to increase their understanding of these policies and procedures,” she said.

The team will be in Samoa from 6-8 May to better understand delivery of Australia’s aid program there.

"This is a great opportunity to assess and draw from practical experiences of participating Forum member countries and development partners in how Australia can strengthen their engagement in the region," says Natalia Latu, a Review team member and the Deputy Chief Exzecutive Officer for the newly established Policy and Reform Division of Tonga's Ministry of Finance and National Planning.

The review is coordinated by PIFS, and is the second review of a development partner as part of the Forum Compact.  The first review was of New Zealand.

The objective of the Forum Compact is to drive more effective coordination of available development resources to achieve real progress against the Millennium Development Goals.

In the year 2000, 189 nations committed themselves to achieving eight overarching Millennium Development Goals MDGs by 2015. The goals are: 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, 2. Achieve universal primary education, 3. Promote gender equality and empower women, 4. Reduce child mortality, 5. Improve maternal health, 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, 7. Ensure environmental sustainability, 8. Develop a global partnership for development.