In August 2017, a deadly ethnic clearance operation, backed by the Myanmar military against the minority Rohingya (Muslim) population in Rakhine state, began the displacement of thousands of Rohingyas. By the end of 2017, around 745,000 people had fled to Cox’s Bazar, a district in southeast...
Category - Aid and Asia
Harold Mitchell: thank you and vale
The death of “adman” and philanthropist Harold Mitchell AC on February 10 has been widely mourned, as well it should be. Australia’s leaders from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese down have recorded their tributes to this larger-than-life character, whose achievements are all the more remarkable for...
Impacts of the Taliban’s ban on women’s work and education
Upon reclaiming power, the Taliban banned girls from schools above year six and women from work, with few exceptions, such as in the health sector. These regressive and stringent policies have exacted a substantial socio-economic toll, not only jeopardising Afghanistan’s relationship with the...
How Southeast Asia pioneered female leadership, and lessons for development cooperation
This is an edited version of a keynote address delivered at the 2023 Australasian AID Conference on 5 December 2023. Today, I’d like to reflect on why Southeast Asia stands out in the global history of gender, for pioneering female political and spiritual leadership; how job-creating economic...
Lessons in urban development from Jakarta’s mass rapid transit...
As Southeast Asian economies mature, their development needs are changing. Indonesia, having...
From little things big things grow: using data to drive...
What does it take for data to inform policy? Without effective communication and political support...
Barely staying afloat: COVID-19 and women entrepreneurs in...
In the beginning of 2020, a young woman named Sabina Akhter took a step towards her dream of owning...
India’s vaccine diplomacy: made in India, shared with the world
On 1 March 2021, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the first dose of Covaxin – India’s...
Vaccine rollout in South Asia: a good start but a long way to go
South Asia has the world’s largest immunisation program, and its rollout of approximately 18...
Inclusive business: a critique
In the era of COVID-19, development organisations from the International Institute for Environment...