Australia redirects foreign aid to help Pacific countries cope with coronavirus

Australia will redirect hundreds of millions in foreign aid funding to help neighbours recover from the fallout of coronavirus.

A global backlash is growing after Donald Trump pulled funding from the WHO despite the threat of the coronavirus pandemic. Source: AAP

Foreign aid funding will be redirected to help Australia's neighbours deal with the impacts of coronavirus.

The shift of more than $280 million comes off the back of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Partnerships for Recovery report.

Released on Friday, it warns the virus could see health systems overwhelmed, millions unemployed and a risk of political and social instability in the region.

"The scale of the COVID-19 crisis will dwarf the resources we have available," it says.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne said Australia is deepening ties with Pacific neighbours. Source: AAP

The Pacific, Timor-Leste and Indonesia will all receive foreign aid to help economic recovery and prop up health responses.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne says it was an unprecedented pivot.

"Our partnerships are more important than ever, particularly with our near neighbours," she said on Friday.

"This is a challenging time for all of us. By working as a region we can recover and prosper together."

Save the Children Australia deputy CEO Mat Tinkler said the focus on the Indo-Pacific region was "spot on", but the bigger picture should not be ignored.

"Our neighbours need our support to withstand the health and economic shock the global pandemic has unleashed," he said.

"But the Australian aid budget is not a magic pudding so any redirection will inevitably hit others hard.

"This is an emergency on an unprecedented scale which cannot possibly be mitigated by scraping together from within the existing bucket of funding."

The report says there will need to be a strong emphasis on women and girls, who were likely to face increased violence during any upheaval.

"COVID-19 threatens to undermine the Indo-Pacific's astounding achievements in economic growth, poverty reduction and political stability over the past two decades," the report says.

While the Pacific and Timor-Leste will be front and centre of the aid response, the report also pointed to Southeast Asia.

"The region's capacity to weather COVID-19 will be integral to Australia's own economic recovery," the report said.

The department would need to be willing to take more risks with its response as the virus restricted ways it could deliver aid.

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