Expert Opinions & Stories

Imagine being at work or school, and watching a presentation on a crucial policy change that directly affects you. The speaker is on screen, uncaptioned, but the volume is too low. You strain your…

Ponny Lim runs a thriving aquaculture enterprise in Cambodia, growing her business with the support of a United Nations programme that guarantees loans to women entrepreneurs who are beyond…

“Everyone is doing it in our daily lives, we just may not realize it,” chuckles Myrah Nerine Butt, a Policy Engagement Advisor at Oxfam International, when asked to define care work.

Care work…

The recently concluded Seventh Session of the Asian and Pacific Population Conference (APPC) highlighted the need for forward-looking policies that harness the demographic transition and place…

Establishing comprehensive social protection and fulfilling the human right to social security for everyone is the foundation of a people-centric strategy for achieving social justice and inclusive…

She lives on the periphery of a bustling city, dreaming of one day moving to a place close to the public transportation grid. Let’s call her Mai, a young mother with an unwavering smile and a heart…

In Asia and the Pacific, migration is again on the rise. In 2020, almost 109 million people lived in a country other than that of their birth. They represented 2.3 per cent of the region’s population…

Despite worldwide change and uncertainty, Asia and the Pacific remains the engine of global economic growth and replete with opportunities, given its population’s size and diversity, its abundance of…

Solidarity is declining among people in the 21st century. This is evident in various aspects of society, including extreme individualism and consumerism, and growing polarization and fragmentation of…

From social media and e-commerce to artificial intelligence, technology is transforming how we work, communicate and live our lives. Yet as technology races ahead, women and girls – especially those…

New technologies and innovations are reshaping our world and its future, often at a dizzying pace. Yet women and girls continue to be left behind in this burgeoning digital universe. How, then, can…

More than one third of the population in Asia and the Pacific is not effectively protected by a healthcare scheme, rendering 1.6 billion people in the region into health-related vulnerabilities…

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…

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…

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…

As a person with psychosocial disability, finding jobs was not easy for Voravee. Thanks to the Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD), Voravee was able to get training such as how to…

Throughout the years, Laxmi Shrestha and her husband saw the opportunities that opening an online shop could bring to her family business.

“Looking at the trend of TikTok and other sites, we…

Countries in the Asia-Pacific region are trying their best to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic by rapidly rolling out vaccination programmes and putting in place public health interventions to reduce…

As COVID-19 restrictions have started to ease in Bangkok, I stepped out this morning to get my usual stock of vegetables and fruits. As I walked down the street, I noticed that three businesses, all…

As we celebrate this year’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Day on 19 November, we do so with the awareness that our region is still far from creating an environment where women entrepreneurs can flourish…