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The World Day of Social Justice takes place in challenging circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed 85 million people into extreme poverty in Asia and the Pacific. Conflict, surging energy…

iStockphoto/WinnieVinzence Blog

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…

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…

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Chinnapong Op-ed

Older persons are highly visible across Asia and the Pacific: they work in agricultural fields producing our food supplies, peddle their wares as street vendors, drive tuk-tuks and buses, exercise in…

Photo by Unsplash/Irina Shishkina Blog

2022 started with an abnormally warm January for North and Central Asia, followed by civil unrest, and the lingering impacts of COVID-19. How the year ahead would look like is still fraught with…

Photo credit: UN photo_Kibae Park Op-ed

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…

Photo credit: iStock/Rich Legg Op-ed

As the world observes the International Day of Persons with Disabilities today, we honour the leadership of persons with disabilities and their tireless efforts to build a more inclusive, accessible…