MERS - Are We at Risk of an Emerging Pandemic?
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, or MERS-CoV, (MERS) is keeping infectious diseases experts on alert lately, although the World Health Organization (WHO) hasn’t declared MERS a global emergency.
Discrimination Driving Gender Wage Gap in Indonesia
The conventional view of wage gaps between men and women is that they have been steadily narrowing over recent decades and this trend will inevitably continue as women achieve higher education levels and enter areas of the workforce which have been dominated by males in the past. Unfortunately recent evidence from Indonesia suggests that pay parity between the sexes remains some way off.
United We Stand – Coordinating Social Protection Programs
Social protection programs are increasingly important for supporting vulnerable groups in Asia, including the poor and elderly, but fragmented delivery of services is undermining their impact and effectiveness.
Preparing for Life After the MDGs
The establishment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the United Nations in 2001 was a defining moment. It rallied a global effort in the fight against poverty, hunger, and disease, while promoting universal education, gender equality, and environmental sustainability. However, new challenges have emerged while remaining ones are complex. Meanwhile, the 2015 deadline for achieving the MDGs is almost upon us, raising the question: where do we go from here?
How Does IT Matter in Rural Health Service Delivery?
Very few young doctors and other health professionals want to work in distant geographic locations and this preference for working in urban centers won’t change in the future and might only increase.This problem calls for innovative solutions to bring health services to populations in hard-to-reach locations and Information Technology provides some viable options which need to be scaled up and integrated into public health systems to bridge the rural-urban gap.
Storm Clouds Ahead – Disease in the Age of Climate Change
Rapid and dynamic changes in Southeast Asia including population growth and movement, as well as booming urbanization, have contributed to the complexity of combating the spread of tropical diseases. Now the region is faced with an even greater challenge: climate change
Women’s Participation: Why Quality Counts More Than Numbers
Nana lives in a remote village. She is married with three children. Both she and her husband are farmers. Nana went to school up to grade 3. Every now and then, the households in her community are asked to attend a meeting. One day, the village leader requested her to attend a meeting the next day.
Indonesia’s Nutritional ‘Double Burden’ Weighs on Economy
Indonesia has made impressive gains in poverty reduction in recent years, but some unfavorable childhood nutrition figures bode ill for the economy and the country’s achievement of a key Millennium Development Goal (MDG).
Beating Malaria, Again
Malaria can be beaten. Proof of this can be found in the fact that across the Asia Pacific region, millions of people who would have died from the disease are living healthy, productive lives. Still, malaria remains a serious threat to lives and livelihoods. Endemic in 22 countries across Asia, it is contracted by an estimated 32 million people annually and kills 47,000 of them.
Impact Evaluations Crucial for Effective Public Policy
Asian countries are increasingly turning to investing in dedicated development programs rather than relying entirely on economic growth to deliver better social outcomes. Evaluations of their actual impact have not always accompanied such decision making, but where they have, it has made a key difference.