The Asian Development Bank (ADB) in June 2020 was faced with the challenging task of delivering urgently needed personnel protective equipment (PPEs) to member countries in Southeast, East, Central, and West Asia, at a time when travel and transport restrictions were at their most severe.

The COVID-19 crisis...

United Nations ESCAP and Switzerland to partner for disaster relief in Asia and the Pacific

Bangkok (ESCAP news) – The Government of Switzerland has pledged USD300,000 in contributions for the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Tsunami,...

Countries across Asia and the Pacific are using new technologies to contain the global pandemic and mitigate its impact, the UN’s regional socio-economic development arm has said, as governments and experts work together to identify ways to innovate further, and build back better, after COVID-19.

Advances...

August 11, 2020 — The Visa Foundation and The Asia Foundation launched a new partnership to support women’s economic advancement and address rising incidences of gender-based violence (GBV) across Malaysia, Myanmar, and Nepal. This partnership is part of The Visa Foundation’s commitment to support small and micro-...

MUMBAI (Aug 11, 2020) -- ( ASIA TODAY ) -- In the wake of Cyclone Amphan, which devastated the state of West Bengal leaving hundreds of people and families homeless, Habitat for Humanity India is providing transitional shelters, drinking water and other services for more than 120 families in South 24 Parganas...

A flight carrying protective masks, ventilators and other essential medical supplies for COVID-19 response, landed in Papua New Guinea on Thursday, marking the start of a humanitarian air service for the Pacific region, Governments and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) have announced.

The supplies were...

August 3, 2020 — The Asia Foundation and The Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation (ELCCF) have renewed their commitment to transforming the future of economically and socially disadvantaged adolescent girls in Vietnam and Indonesia through education and skills development programs. Since the launch of ELCCF...

Habitat for Humanity, Penn State University and Purdue University will host the third session in the “Our Homes, Our Health: Advancing an Inclusive Agenda for Building Performance” webinar series on July 15, 9:00pm SGT. Register for the webinar at　bit.ly/HomesHealth3.

The U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing Php126 million ($2.5 million) to help the Philippine government’s implementation of the Basic Education-Learning Continuity Plan to advance education delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the COVID-19 emergency...

BANGKOK - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today the five winners of the first WE4F Asia Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy (EDGE) Agriculture-Energy Prize.

The 2020 Bangladesh monsoon season has begun, which means severe flooding with devastating humanitarian effects. However, this year, tens of thousands of vulnerable families will be better prepared through the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Forecast-based Financing unconditional cash transfers.

Phnom Penh, July 2, 2020 — The National Institute of Diplomacy and International Relations (NIDIR) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Cambodia, and The Asia Foundation will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Collaboration and Capacity Building on Diplomacy and International...

San Francisco, June 22, 2020 — The ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ACCMSME) and The Asia Foundation have come together, to launch the Go Digital ASEAN initiative. Supported by a USD3.3m grant from Google.org, the initiative is designed to equip micro and small enterprises as...

World’s largest AIDS organization, AHF, applauds United Nations Human Rights Council decision to #StandAgainstHate by holding urgent debate on racism and police brutality at its 43rd session this week.

LOS ANGELES -- AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and its #StandAgainstHate campaign applauds the United...

Pets are no less than a friend with whom you can cuddle all day to relieve your stress. Adding a new pet companion to your family requires one to be highly responsible to shoulder the boulders of adopting a new pet. Adoption can provide them with a new home, but one needs to ensure that the pets get an atmosphere...

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has threatened health, livelihoods, and social wellbeing across much of Asia and the Pacific. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been responding to the crisis from its early stages, focusing on a broad set of challenges related to the public health emergency, its...

Bangkok (ESCAP news) – The 7th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) concluded today with a resounding call for countries to revive international cooperation and multi-stakeholder partnerships in tackling the huge socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which threaten to reverse hard-won...

Heads of State, senior government officials and other stakeholders from 62 countries will convene this week to coordinate stronger regional responses in addressing the significant socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hard hit the Asia-Pacific region. They will also review how these impacts may...

Bangkok, Thailand ─ Climate change could push 62 million people into extreme poverty in South Asia. Those who are living on the edge and above the poverty line are also likely to be affected by extreme weather, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-induced hazards. A World Bank study has concluded that, without...

As the COVID-19 pandemic reshapes the way in which we work, keep in touch, go to school and shop for essentials – across the world – it has never been more important to bridge the digital divide for the 3.6 billion people who remain off-line.

That’s according to top experts from the International...