Community-Driven Development for Effective Disaster Response in the Philippines
Poverty and natural disasters are intertwined. Both, however, can be addressed together through the community-driven development approach to disaster preparedness, as we have learned in the Philippines.
Pantawid Pamilya: Money for Nothing?
More than 4.4 million poor Filipino families receive regular cash grants from the government to help them make ends meet. But they aren’t getting money for nothing—there is a catch: families only get the cash if their children go to school and get regular health check-ups, and if the parents go to family development sessions every month.
Yolanda Response Shows Power of the Virtual Citizen
A year ago this last weekend, Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda) hit the Philippines, the strongest tropical cyclone in recorded history. You may have heard about this tragedy via traditional media but it is likely you heard more about it through social media.
World TB Day – Reaching the Missing Millions
World Tuberculosis Day provides an important occasion to raise awareness about a disease that continues to affect millions of people around the globe.
Building a Better World: Youth and Governance
Young people today live in a difficult world. There are more graduates than jobs in the market, the environment is more degraded than ever before, and competition to earn a living and have the same quality of life as the previous generation is increasingly difficult.
Aid in Practice – Mobilizing Youth When Disaster Strikes
For a lot of youth around the world, disasters and aid are just concepts—something they might view on television or read about online, but never actually experience first-hand.
(Not) Talking “HIV/AIDS” in the Philippines
Many of the Filipinos, I have gotten to know over the last 8 years, say that their love lives are strongly influenced by their passionate, emotional culture and Catholic up-bringing.
Disaster Risk Realities
Preparation reduces the damage caused by typhoons, earthquakes and other hazards, but sometimes the power of nature overwhelms all.
Are Conditional Cash Transfers Helping Women?
While a CCT program may address gender-specific vulnerabilities, it is not a panacea. CCTs cannot guarantee the social and economic autonomy of women.
Social Protection is Needed for Crisis Recovery
The global economic crisis presents an opportunity to rethink socio-economic policies in Asia and the Pacific. The lack of adequate social protection systems became a liability during the current crisis.