With a global pandemic dominating Asia’s headlines over the last 18 months, some of the region’s most critical policy issues have flown under the radar. While case numbers and vaccination programs across the region have rightly attracted attention, policymakers are working behind the scenes on many of the problems they were facing before the pandemic, often in worsening conditions.
In the wake of the pandemic crisis, poverty in Asia and the Pacific stopped declining for the first time in two decades, and 32 million people who were expected to escape poverty remained in deprivation. Growth has fallen by double digits in some of the most fragile economies in the region, unemployment has soared, and health infrastructure has been under massive stress. In the background of it all, the climate crisis continues brewing, threatening to displace millions if left unaddressed.
M
ost importantly, many of these tricky problems are having their biggest impact – and some of the biggest gains are to be made – in the corners of Asia too often ignored in policy discussion. That’s why Policy Forum is launching a new In Focus: Developing Asia section, to bring you analysis from experts on the region’s most pressing policy problems from the perspective of its least developed members. As always, we hope you find the discussion valuable, and we invite you to join in the conversation.
Guest Editor, In Focus: Developing Asia section
Podcasts:
Breaking with convention – human rights in the Asia Pacific
Ensuring decent work and social protection for all
Naila Kabeer – the gender agenda
Articles:
Policy File: Developing Asia’s post-pandemic future
COVID-19 is a wake-up call to address development fault lines in Asia and the Pacific
The illusion of digital inclusion in the post-COVID-19 world
Bhutan’s pursuit of happiness in the pandemic era
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
As global crises intensify and our cities are forced to adapt, policymakers need to engage with marginalised communities and ensure planning decisions are based on principles of human rights and justice, Pakamas Thinphanga writes.
6 minute read
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Government and governance | South Asia
While Sri Lanka’s current unrest was triggered by economic mismanagement, the government’s unwillingness to oust ethno-nationalist ideology is at the core of the country’s problems, Jeevethan Selvachandran writes.
7 minute read
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Mongolia’s government has announced a ‘comprehensive’ plan to help its economy rebound from the shock of the pandemic, but it contains no policies designed specifically to reduce poverty, Ariun-Erdene Bayarjargal writes.
7 minute read
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The Asia-Pacific region must continue to create national civil registration and vital statistics systems that are universal and responsive, Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana and Gillian Triggs write.
5 minute read
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Government and governance | South Asia
Recent reforms in Nepal have disproportionally affected the ability of ethnic minorities to represent their interests, Sushav Niraula writes.
6 minute read
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As policymakers across the world look to shift their power sources away from coal, they must keep in mind the gendered impacts of their energy transitions, Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt writes.
8 minute read
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Despite facing difficulties in managing the economic impacts of the pandemic, if Sri Lanka can reduce poverty, enable women to secure paid work, and control its debt, it will have reason for optimism, Ganeshan Wignaraja writes.
6 minute read
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Government and governance | Australia
On this episode of Policy Forum Pod, scholars Mathew Davies and Susan Harris Rimmer join us to look at the complex human rights landscape in Southeast Asia and throughout the Asia-Pacific region, and what role the international community can and should play.
46 minute listen
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Environment & energy | Southeast Asia
A relatively low but increasing carbon price could play an important role in helping Vietnam meet its emission reduction targets, Thang Nam Do and Paul Burke write.
5 minute read
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The damage of the COVID-19 pandemic has combined with a mounting financial crisis to pose a serious threat to Sri Lanka’s development, Jeevethan Selvachandran writes.
7 minute read
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