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…

World Population Day on 11 July provides an excellent opportunity to take stock and look ahead regarding population issues that are affecting all aspects of society in Asia and the Pacific. This year…

Stories of growing vulnerability make regular headlines across all Asian and Pacific small island developing States (SIDS). With tens of thousands of people displaced every year due to climate and…

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…

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…

“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…

As the world is still gearing up to welcome 2024, let us find a moment to reflect on some of the key trends of the past year and pursue now to embrace the path towards hope and promise for everyone,…

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…

Quality infrastructure and investments in priority sectors drive sustainable development  by reducing inequalities and improving access to health, education, public services and income…

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…

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…

Two destructive Category 4 tropical cyclones, Judy and Kevin, and an earthquake of 6.5 magnitude impacted over 80 per cent of the Vanuatu population from 1 to 3 March 2023. To address this emergency…

The impacts of the climate crisis are acutely felt in the Pacific region.  In recent years, the region has been hit by devastating climate events, which cause widespread destruction and…

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…

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…