The role of non-government organisations in global health and human development for VCE Health and Human Development Unit 4 AoS 2
“The role of non-government organisations in providing aid (humanitarian assistance, reducing poverty, improving human development and promoting health) and in supporting the achievement of the SDGs”
A non-government organisation (NGO) is a not-for-profit organisation that is independent of government and works to improve people's lives. In global health, NGOs do four things the study design names: provide humanitarian assistance (emergency medical care, water, food and shelter after disasters and in conflict), reduce poverty (livelihood and savings programs), improve human development (education, gender equality, community participation) and promote health (clinics, surgery, immunisation, water and sanitation, training health workers). They also advocate for change. Examples with their own reported figures: Médecins Sans Frontières provided 17,071,300 outpatient consultations and assisted 405,000 births in over 70 countries in 2025; The Fred Hollows Foundation and its partners performed 511,623 eye operations and treatments and trained 48,994 people in 2025. Governments, including Australia, partner with NGOs because of their specialised skills, community relationships, flexibility and speed. Their limitations are scale, reliance on donations, and dependence on access that governments can restrict.
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What this dot point is asking
The 2025 study design asks students to "evaluate Australia's aid program and the role of non-government organisations", and lists "aid provided by non-government organisations" as one of the types of aid, with the four purposes above. Individual and social action (the last key knowledge point) often runs through NGOs too, so this page connects to individual and social action.
What makes an organisation an NGO
- Non-government: independent of government control, even if it receives government grants.
- Not-for-profit: surplus funds go back into programs.
- Mission-driven: exists to address a need, such as ending avoidable blindness, providing emergency medical care or reducing poverty.
- Funded mainly by the public: donations, regular giving, bequests and fundraising events, plus grants from governments, foundations and multilateral organisations.
Kinds of NGOs:
| Kind | Focus | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Humanitarian | Emergency response in disasters, epidemics and conflict | Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Red Cross and Red Crescent societies |
| Development | Long-term programs in health, education, water, livelihoods | The Fred Hollows Foundation, Oxfam, World Vision, Save the Children |
| Advocacy | Changing laws, policies and funding decisions | Many NGOs combine advocacy with programs |
| Local or community-based | Run by and for a local community, often partners of international NGOs | Local women's groups, community health organisations |
Organisations working across several countries are often called international NGOs (INGOs). Many Australian NGOs belong to the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), the peak body for Australian aid and development NGOs, which runs a code of conduct for its members.
The roles of NGOs
Providing humanitarian assistance
NGOs are often first on the ground after a disaster or in a conflict, because they already have staff, supplies and relationships in the area.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian NGO. In 2025 its teams provided medical care in over 70 countries, including 17,071,300 outpatient consultations, 405,000 births assisted (including caesarean sections) and 2,941,600 emergency room admissions. In 2024 it treated 3,877,100 malaria cases (MSF International Activity Reports 2024 and 2025). MSF publishes audited combined financial statements every year; it reports that 79 per cent of spending goes to its social mission, 16 per cent to fundraising and 5 per cent to management and administration.
Health links: emergency surgery, obstetric care and treatment of malaria and cholera reduce mortality, especially maternal and under-5 mortality, and reduce morbidity during outbreaks.
Reducing poverty
Oxfam's Saving for Change (the 2022 VCAA stimulus) helps people in Timor-Leste form savings groups. Members learn to manage money, save towards goals chosen by the group member (anything from a tractor to education or kitchen utensils) and draw on savings "to soften the impact of stressful events, such as illness or food shortages". The program was funded through the Australia NGO Cooperation Program, a government program that co-funds accredited Australian NGOs. Francisco's children, who used to experience malnutrition, now "don't get sick like before" (Oxfam Australia, 2019).
Links: household savings and income improve food security and access to health care and schooling; financial skills build long-term capability rather than dependence.
Improving human development
NGOs run education programs, especially for girls, support women's leadership and economic participation, and help communities participate in decisions. The 2023 VCAA stimulus showed the flip side: when the Taliban banned women from working for international NGOs, Save the Children suspended operations in Afghanistan, because its female staff were "our doctors, nurses, midwives, ... counselors, case workers and teachers", and "most women in Afghanistan are only allowed to see female health professionals and case workers, and girls can only be taught by female teachers". Without them, the NGO could not reach millions of women and children.
Links: access to knowledge, participation in decisions affecting their lives, and the ability to earn an income are all human development outcomes.
Promoting health
The Fred Hollows Foundation is an Australian-founded development NGO working to end avoidable blindness. It reports that with its partners in 2025 it screened 6,136,161 people, performed 511,623 eye operations and treatments, distributed 148,885 pairs of glasses and trained 48,994 people including community health workers, teachers and surgeons. It works in more than 25 countries, "partnering with governments and local communities to build strong, sustainable eye health systems" (The Fred Hollows Foundation, 2025 impact figures).
Links: restoring sight reduces YLD and falls, allows people to return to work, school and caring roles, and frees family members (often women and girls) from caring duties. Training local surgeons and health workers means services continue after the NGO's direct involvement.
Advocacy and awareness
NGOs lobby governments on aid budgets, health policy and human rights, run public campaigns, and give communities a voice. This is how individuals often take social action: by joining an NGO campaign, signing a petition or donating (see individual and social action).
How NGOs support the SDGs
| NGO activity | SDG supported | Link to SDG 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Savings groups, livelihood training | SDG 1 No poverty | Income to afford food and care |
| Nutrition and agriculture programs | SDG 2 Zero hunger | Less undernutrition and stunting, lower under-5 mortality |
| Clinics, surgery, immunisation, maternal care | SDG 3 Good health and well-being | Directly reduces mortality and morbidity |
| Girls' education, teacher training | SDG 4 Quality education | Health literacy, delayed marriage, healthier children |
| Women's health services, ending violence against women | SDG 5 Gender equality | Lower maternal mortality, less injury and trauma |
| Wells, toilets, hygiene education | SDG 6 Clean water and sanitation | Less diarrhoeal disease |
With official development assistance falling by a record 23 per cent in 2025 (UN, SDG Report 2026), NGOs' public fundraising is an important source of aid, although many NGOs also rely on government grants, so cuts to official aid can reduce what they deliver.
Why governments partner with NGOs
The 2022 examiners' report (Question 7a) gives the reasons VCAA accepts:
- Specialised skills: for example, setting up savings programs, eye surgery or emergency medicine. Funding NGOs extends the reach of the government's aid.
- Community-based focus: NGOs can concentrate effort and specialised resources on small, community-based development work.
- Speed and flexibility in emergencies: faster, more flexible responses than government structures can deliver.
- Trust: established relationships with communities, which increases participation and effectiveness.
Australia's program does this through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program, which co-funds accredited Australian NGOs to deliver development programs.
Evaluating the role of NGOs
| Strengths | Limitations |
|---|---|
| Reach remote, marginalised and conflict-affected communities governments may not reach | Smaller scale than government or multilateral programs |
| Local staff and partners understand culture and needs, so programs are culturally appropriate | Funding from donations is unpredictable and can fall after a crisis leaves the news |
| Flexible and fast in emergencies | Access can be blocked by governments or conflict (Save the Children in Afghanistan) |
| Specialist expertise (eye surgery, emergency medicine, savings groups) | Many small NGOs can duplicate services or create parallel systems that do not strengthen government health services |
| Advocacy gives communities a voice | Accountability varies; not all NGOs publish clear results |
| Training local workers builds sustainability | Some programs treat symptoms rather than underlying causes |
A strong evaluation weighs these for a specific program. For example, the Fred Hollows Foundation's model is strong on sustainability because it trains local surgeons and works with governments, while MSF's value is greatest in acute crises where health systems have broken down.
- Step 1: Health and wellbeing
- Pick a specific activity from the stimulus and follow it to a specific aspect of a dimension. "Female midwives mean women can receive care during childbirth, reducing the risk of haemorrhage and promoting physical health and wellbeing."
- Step 2: Human development
- Take a different or the same activity to a human development concept, and show what the concept means. "Girls taught by female teachers gain literacy and numeracy, giving them access to knowledge and more choices about their future work."
- Step 3: Use the stimulus
- Quote a phrase ("our female staff members enable us to access women and children").
- Step 4: Keep the concepts separate
- The 2023 report said students neglected "to link the role of NGOs to both health and wellbeing and human development". Label each part.
In 2022, 78 per cent scored zero on why Australia partners with NGOs such as Oxfam, often because they wrote about partnerships generally. Name what the NGO specifically brings: specialised skills, community relationships, speed or flexibility.
NGOs may receive government funding (through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program, for example), but they are independent. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is not an NGO, and the WHO is a United Nations agency, not an NGO.
"The program improves access to knowledge and a decent standard of living" is a list. Show how: the activity, the change for the person, and what that means for their choices.
Command terms for this dot point
- Outline (2 marks): one reason for partnering with an NGO, with two pieces of information (2022 Q7a).
- Explain (4 to 6 marks): how an NGO program promotes health and wellbeing and human development, using the stimulus (2022 Q7b).
- Discuss (in a 10-mark extended question): the role of NGOs for a group, with links to both health and wellbeing and human development (2023 Q13).
- Evaluate (4 to 6 marks): strengths, limitations and a judgement, often using features of effective aid.
How this dot point appears in the VCE exam
- Stimulus about a named NGO program: Oxfam's Saving for Change (2022), Save the Children in Afghanistan (2023), NGOs preventing violence against women and girls (2025 Q9).
- High-scoring examples in reports often name real NGOs (World Vision in 2022 and 2024, the Australian Red Cross in 2023). Naming a real NGO and a real type of program adds precision.
Exam-style questions
Questions in the style of VCAA exam questions on this dot point, each with a worked answer. They are written by ExamExplained unless tagged "Past paper"; the year shows the paper a question is modelled on.
2022 VCAA Q7a-bPast paper8 marks[Stimulus, summarised: Francisco, a rice farmer in Timor-Leste, struggled to feed his family until he joined an Oxfam-supported Saving for Change group funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Australia NGO Cooperation Program. Members save towards goals and can use savings during illness or food shortages. His children used to experience malnutrition; now "our children have a strong physique and don't get sick like before".]
a. Outline one reason why the Australian aid program involves partnerships like the one between the Australian Government and Oxfam, as described in the information above. (2 marks)
b. Explain how Oxfam's 'Saving for Change' program promotes health and wellbeing, and human development. (6 marks)
Show worked answer →
Source: 2022 VCE Health and Human Development examination, Question 7a and 7b, and the 2022 examiners' report.
Part a averaged 0.3 out of 2; 78 per cent scored zero. "Many students discussed partnerships in general, which was not answering the question." Answers needed two pieces of information about one reason for partnering with an NGO. Accepted reasons (report): NGOs have specialised skills, such as setting up savings programs, so funding them extends the reach of Australia's aid; NGOs can focus effort and specialised resources on small, community-based development work; NGOs can respond faster and more flexibly in emergencies than government structures; NGOs have established, trusted relationships with the communities they serve, making programs more effective.
Part b averaged 2.5 out of 6. High-scoring responses made meaningful links between the stimulus and each concept rather than naming aspects. Summarised example: access to food supports the immune system and reduces malnutrition and illness (physical); less food insecurity reduces stress and anxiety (mental); school allows children to build relationships with classmates (social). For human development: with food, children are more likely to attend school, gaining access to knowledge, which expands employment choices and lets them participate in the life of the community.
2023 VCAA Q13Past paper10 marks[Stimulus: data on Afghanistan and Australia (female life expectancy, HDI, maternal mortality, nursing and midwifery personnel); global gender inequality facts; Save the Children suspending operations in Afghanistan after women were banned from working for international NGOs.]
Using information from all three sources and your own knowledge, discuss the:
- contribution of inequality and discrimination to variations in health status between low-income countries such as Afghanistan and high-income countries such as Australia
- contribution of SDG 5, 'Gender equality', to achieving SDG 3, 'Good health and well-being'
- role of non-government organisations (NGOs) in promoting health and wellbeing and human development for women and girls in low-income countries such as Afghanistan. (10 marks)
Show worked answer →
Source: 2023 VCE Health and Human Development examination, Question 13 (10 marks), and the 2023 examiners' report. Average 2.4 out of 10. This page covers the third bullet.
Common error for the NGO bullet (report): "neglecting to link the role of NGOs to both health and wellbeing and human development". Two links are required, one for each concept.
What the stimulus gave you. Save the Children's spokesperson said female staff "are our doctors, nurses, midwives ... counselors, case workers and teachers", and that "most women in Afghanistan are only allowed to see female health professionals and case workers, and girls can only be taught by female teachers". The NGO's role therefore depended on employing women.
High-scoring response (report, summarised). International NGOs such as Save the Children provide female doctors and nurses, so women feel more comfortable seeking care, reducing stress and anxiety (mental health and wellbeing), and they can participate in decisions affecting their lives (human development). When treated, women can be well enough to work for an income to afford food and shelter, achieving a decent standard of living. Other NGOs, such as the Australian Red Cross, may provide safety and hygiene kits to women and girls fleeing violence, helping them avoid infection (physical) and supporting their survival and participation in the community they move to.
Original5 marksThe Fred Hollows Foundation reports that with its partners in 2025 it screened 6,136,161 people, performed 511,623 eye operations and treatments and trained 48,994 people, including community health workers, teachers and surgeons. Evaluate the role of this NGO in promoting health and human development. (5 marks)Show worked answer →
Marks guide (Original, modelled on VCAA criteria): about 2 marks for health, 2 for human development, and 1 for a supported judgement.
- Health (about 2 marks)
- Cataract surgery and treatment restore sight, reducing years lived with disability (YLD) from vision loss, and screening detects conditions early. Restored sight reduces falls and injuries and allows people to care for themselves, promoting physical health and wellbeing.
- Human development (about 2 marks)
- People who can see again can return to work or school, earning an income for a decent standard of living and gaining access to knowledge. Carers, often girls and women, are freed to attend school or work. Training 48,994 local health workers and surgeons builds local capacity, expanding the choices available to communities.
- Judgement (1 mark)
- The role is effective because it treats a specific need at scale and trains local people, so services can continue (sustainability). A limitation is that it depends on donations and partner governments, and cannot address all causes of poor health, such as poverty.
Practise this
Sources & how we know this
- International Activity Report 2025 — Médecins Sans Frontières (2026)
- International Activity Report 2024 — Médecins Sans Frontières (2025)
- Annual reports and 2025 impact figures — The Fred Hollows Foundation (2026)
- How your donation is making dreams come true in Timor-Leste — Oxfam Australia (2019)
- The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026: key messages — United Nations (2026)
- 2022 VCE Health and Human Development external assessment report — VCAA (2023)
- 2023 VCE Health and Human Development external assessment report — VCAA (2024)
- 2024 VCE Health and Human Development external assessment report — VCAA (2025)
- VCE Health and Human Development Study Design (from 2025) — VCAA
- VCE Health and Human Development: examination specifications, past examinations and reports — VCAA