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Let’s call her Anita. Four years ago, her life took an unexpected turn when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted everything she knew. As businesses closed and economic uncertainty loomed, Anita, like…

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In a world increasingly driven by information, the role of ‘data’ and ‘statistics’ is guiding decisions, including on population and sustainable development. In Asia and the Pacific, home to 60 per…

ESCAP/Suwat Chancharoensuk Story

Senator Monthian Buntan has worked tirelessly over the last decade in the parliament of Thailand spearheading legislation to help persons with disabilities; managing to get policies passed that make…

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The recent climate talks in Egypt have left us with a sobering reality: The window for maintaining global warming to 1.5 degrees is closing fast and what is on the table currently is insufficient to…

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The world is due to reach 8 billion people today, November 15! This very precise date hides an uncomfortable truth – we don’t really know exactly how many people there are in the world. This is…

Photo credit: Alanieta Wavu Blog

As the owner of a small business at the Suva flea market, Vilisi Wavu knows what it takes to be a female entrepreneur in Fiji. It requires a “shift in attitude and a sense of urgency” to succeed in…

Photo credit: Shutterstock/Natee K Jindakum Op-ed

Ten years ago, the Asia-Pacific region came together and designed the world’s first set of disability-specific development goals: the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with…

Photo credit: UN Photo/John Isaacs Blog

Social protection safeguards access to basic opportunities across the life cycle, particularly in times of need. When a household is protected through a social protection scheme, potential loss of…

Photo credit: iStock/FangXiaNuo Op-ed

Most of the 2.1 billion strong workforce in Asia and the Pacific are denied access to decent jobs, health care and social protection but there is an array polices and tools that governments can use…

Story

“Loneliness is created by isolating ourselves,” said 85-year-old Ratnam Periowsamy from Singapore.

“When I saw my grandchildren and children all busy with their computers and handphones, I felt…