Most Australians believe that the work of international aid agencies is effective in assisting children in developing countries, although most also believe that conditions for the world's poor children are unchanged or have deteriorated according to the report released today by ChildFund Australia - Perceptions of children's needs and aid effectiveness in developing countries, 2008

The ChildFund Australia national annual survey gauges Australian public opinion about child poverty in the developing world, aid effectiveness, public support for international aid and the importance of child poverty relative to other global problems. The research is conducted independently of ChildFund by ACA Research and surveys the opinions of more than 1,000 Australians.

The 2008 survey finds that most Australians believe international aid is effective although the strength of this perception has softened slightly from 2007. In 2008, half believe international aid is 'somewhat effective', 1 in 4 believe that it is 'very' or 'extremely' effective, while close to a third think it is 'not very' or 'not' effective.

ChildFund Australia's CEO Nigel Spence says: "It is encouraging to see that the majority of Australians hold a positive view of the work of international development agencies. It suggests that, even during more difficult economic times, most people have some confidence that their contributions are benefiting those in need."

At the same time, the prevailing view within the Australian community is that poverty and hardship for children in developing countries is not being reduced. Half of all respondents feel that over the last 10 years the problems facing children in developing countries remain unchanged. Roughly a third believes that the problems have worsened and only 16% believe the situation has improved.

In 2008, poverty & hardship for children is still rated the most important global issue, although the rating is down from last year, while concern about war & armed conflict has strengthened.

The ChildFund survey finds that older Australians are the most pessimistic, with nearly half of those aged 50 years and over believing conditions have worsened for children, compared to 26% of people under 29 years. Older Australians, particularly older males, also rate the effectiveness of international aid less highly than younger people.

Overall, women are more positive than men regarding the effectiveness of international aid, and those earning high incomes (greater than $100,000 pa) perceive aid effectiveness more negatively than those on low or middle incomes.

Australians identify Sudan, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia as the countries where conditions have most deteriorated for children while China, India and Vietnam are identified as those countries where conditions have most improved for children.

"The perception that conditions have improved for children in countries such as India and Vietnam is most likely due to their much-reported rapid economic growth. However, this new prosperity can disguise the vast numbers of children still living in poverty in these countries particularly in rural areas where the benefits of economic growth aren't filtering through" stated Mr Spence.

Australians overwhelmingly identify Africa as the global region having the greatest level of poverty and hardship for children and Ethiopia continues to be identified by Australians as the world's poorest country.

"This finding highlights the challenge for aid agencies in trying to draw attention to other countries which have poverty indicators equivalent to or worse than Ethiopia," says Mr Spence. "The extreme poverty of countries such as Sierra Leone, Niger or Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, remain largely outside the consciousness of Australians."

Water and sanitation, nutrition, health and education continue to be rated by Australians as the most pressing concerns for children in developing countries. At the same time the 2008 survey finds that there is growing concern amongst the Australian public about child protection issues such as child labour, trafficking and children in warfare.

Surprisingly, when asked to name major humanitarian crises affecting children in the last 12 months, the Indian Ocean tsunami is most often named despite this occurring than three years ago*. "It appears that the massive scale of this disaster, the long rebuilding and recovery period and extensive media reporting have entrenched this crisis in the mind of the Australian public," commented ChildFund CEO, Nigel Spence.

*NB, the survey was conducted in February 2008, prior to the Myanmar/Burma cyclone and China earthquake.