In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

It is entirely appropriate that the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness is being held in the city of Busan, South Korea. In many ways, Busan symbolizes the story of Korea’s transition from poverty and aid dependence to aid donor and host of the most important global meeting on development cooperation.

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In a recent speech at the Overseas Development Institute, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair stressed the important role that leadership plays in development. Now, as the Forum draws to an end, the importance of leadership proves a crucial and timely message…

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As thousands of development experts and leaders gathered this week in Busan, Korea, for the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, The Asia Foundation has just published a book featuring case studies from the Philippines that focus on many of the most critical development challenges being raised in Busan.

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This story is one that I have shared many times before. Years ago, I found myself walking through a stunning village in Bazarak, Panjshir Valley – home of the late Ahmad Shah Massoud – over 50 miles from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. I was there to help monitor preparations for the 2004 presidential elections.

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When times are tough, it’s difficult to settle into a charitable mood. At the mention of global aid, people grumble that we can’t even afford to care for our needy at home. But as with individual lives, a nation needs to look beyond immediate concerns in forging a path for the future.

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A global campaign is underway right now to bring attention to a pressing human rights issue which affects up to 60 percent women across the world. The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign – which falls between International Day Against Violence Against Women…

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Just yesterday, on November 15 in Kabul and Washington, D.C., The Asia Foundation released the results of its 2011 Survey of the Afghan People. The annual Survey of the Afghan People is the most comprehensive and credible nationwide poll of public opinion on topics related to national mood, governance, security, and development in Afghanistan. In 2011, the survey polled over 6,300 respondents from all 34 provinces of Afghanistan.

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In Asia‘s editor, Alma Freeman, interviewed 2011 Survey of the Afghan People co-author and former Asia Foundation program director for Law, Human Rights, and Women’s Empowerment in Kabul, Najla Ayubi, for her reaction to the findings of The Asia Foundation’s 2011 Survey and what they might mean for women’s rights, peace talks, and more. Ayubi is currently the Afghanistan country director for the Open Society Foundation.

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Religious leaders received the highest vote of confidence and optimism of the Afghan people among local governance institutions, according to The Asia Foundation’s 2011 Survey of the Afghan People. Seventy percent of respondents say that there should be regular consultation with religious leaders about problems in their area, while 74 percent rank religious leaders…

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For the first time since 2007, respondents in The Asia Foundation’s 2011 Survey of the Afghan People cited reconstruction and rebuilding as the most important reason for optimism. The level of optimism for reconstruction and rebuilding…

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