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.
Bust the Gender Myths to Set Girls on Course for Future
How many of your childhood friends do you remember who climbed trees, drew imaginative pictures showing how things worked, built cities of Lego, rode bikes, constructed forts from blankets and furniture and invented elaborate games involving hiding, seeking, capturing … and getting really filthy?
Sukuk: A Key to Building Asia’s Critical Infrastructure
The global market for sukuk – or Islamic debt securities – has soared from a tiny US$15 billion in 2001 to US$281 billion in 2013. Helping issuers tap the large pool of funds seeking shari’ah-compliant investments would help lower the cost of financing infrastructure, while the innovative profit-sharing structures of some sukuk could also lower the risk of financing such projects.
Lifting Asia Out of Poverty Needs to Be Done Equally
Developing Asia’s impressive growth continues but faces a new challenge — inequality is on the rise. Over the last few decades, the region has lifted people out of poverty at an unprecedented rate. But more recent experience contrasts with the ‘growth with equity’ story that characterised the newly industrialised economies’ transformation in the 1960s and 1970s.
Social Pensions: Greying with Security and Dignity
Providing a decent, secure and dignified way of life for the elderly is set to become one of the most pressing concerns facing policymakers in Asia in coming years.
Asia Rising—and Faster Than Expected
Asian success stories have broken down the old distinctions between rich countries and poor, developing and developing, development assistance providers and aid recipients.
Farewell Astana, Hello Baku
We’ve wrapped up our 47th Annual Meeting in Astana today with plenty of food for thought on what lies ahead for our vast, diverse region.
Target Social Protection in Tajikistan to Where it is Needed
In ensuring the success of social protection programs, who benefits from public transfers is as important as how much or what type of support is provided. Tajikistan offers a case in point.
It’s Time to Listen to the Scientists
The messages from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are clear—human induced climate change is happening, climate impacts on humans and natural systems will be significant, and dramatic mitigation needs to happen very soon.
Why are More Women Dying in Childbirth in Indonesia?
As the world marks International Day of Action for Women's Health, maternal deaths are an uncomfortable reminder that much work still needs to be done. Indonesia is a case in point. While it is one of the fast growing economic powerhouses in Asia it is also experiencing a worrying rise in maternal deaths.