Notes from the Field
As Sri Lanka’s Economy Grows, Commercial Disputes Heat Up
March 27, 2013
Despite decades of internal conflict, Sri Lanka now boasts high-income growth and a notable reduction in human development index shortfall, according to the just-released 2013 Human Development Report entitled, “The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World.”
Topics: Conflict and Fragile Conditions | Economic Development | International Development | Law
Countries: Sri Lanka
Inaugural LankaCorps Alumni Share Experiences with Sri Lankan Diaspora
March 27, 2013
In July 2012, five strangers – Ann Selvadurai, Sabina Martyn, Seshma Kumararatne, Sahani Chandraratna, and Sivashankar Krishnakumar – boarded a plane to Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, under the auspices of a unique Asia Foundation fellowship program.
Topics: Conflict and Fragile Conditions | Education | Exchanges | International Development | LankaCorps | Regional Cooperation
Countries: Sri Lanka
Gender-Based Violence Still Presents Greatest Need in Nepal
March 27, 2013
Gender-based violence (GBV) affects nearly half of women in Nepal, according to a recent survey by The Asia Foundation. The results of the survey, included in a recent field report from Asia Foundation program officer and Give2Asia’s field advisor to Nepal, Diana Fernandez, showed that 48 percent of women…
Topics: International Development | Washington DC | Women's Empowerment
Countries: Nepal
Transboundary Water Cooperation Key to Easing South Asia’s Water Woes
March 20, 2013
More than 75 percent of Asia-Pacific countries lack water security, according to a new report released last week by the Asian Development Bank. Compared to other regions, South Asia is a hot spot where inequity of access to water is the highest. The region supports more than 21 percent of the world’s population, but has access to just over 8 percent of global water resources. As rapid population growth and urbanization increase demand, water is increasingly a scarce and precious resource in South Asia. Even as the complex environmental consequences of climate change, deteriorating river ecology, and growing urbanization continue to unfold new challenges for the region, South Asia’s water woes could be significantly mitigated through improved water governance…
Topics: Economic Development | Environment | Governance | Regional Cooperation | Washington DC | World Water Day
Countries: Bangladesh | India | Nepal
Dispatch from Micronesia: Mitigating Water Insecurity through Disaster Preparedness
March 20, 2013
My colleague Lisa Hook and I are currently in the Pacific Island countries of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), two small island states that face some of the highest risks of natural disasters and climate change.
Topics: Economic Development | Environment | Governance | International Development | World Water Day
Countries: Pacific Islands
Study: Community-Based Development in Conflict Areas of the Philippines
March 20, 2013
Over the past decade, community-based development (CBD) programs have become among the most common and widely accepted methods for providing assistance to conflict-affected regions. To help inform future programs and stimulate new thinking and dialogue…
Topics: Conflict and Fragile Conditions | Governance | International Development
Countries: Philippines
Q&A: Douglas Bereuter Examines Global Food Security & Sustainability
March 13, 2013
As the world population approaches 9 billion by 2050 and demand for food rises, tackling food security and sustainability is one of the most critical challenges. In Asia editor Alma Freeman spoke with former Asia Foundation president and member of Congress, Douglas Bereuter…
Topics: Economic Development | Environment | Feed the Future | International Development | Technology & Development | Washington DC
Countries: Bangladesh | Cambodia | India | Nepal
Despite Rapid Modernization in Vietnam, Survey Reveals Gender Bias Persists Among Youth
March 6, 2013
In Vietnam, a remarkable 95 percent of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 have access to the internet, with social networking growing so rapidly that Vietnam is Facebook’s fastest growing market in the world, with an estimated 8.5 million users, according to a We Are Social report. No doubt, rapid economic growth in the past two decades has contributed to tremendous social transformation in Vietnam, while global integration and the communications revolution have connected young Vietnamese to outside information and views like never before. Despite these trends, a brand new survey reveals that traditional gender roles remain deeply embedded in Vietnamese society and institutions, permeating work, home, and the public arena.
Topics: Economic Development | International Women's Day | Social media | Technology & Development | Washington DC | Women's Empowerment
Countries: Vietnam
Bangladeshis Join V-Day’s One Billion Rising to End Violence Against Women
March 6, 2013
For International Women’s Day, the UN declared 2013 a “time for action to end violence against women,” as the theme of the annual global event. In the lead up to IWD, on February 14 tens of thousands of events were held in 207 countries across the globe…
Topics: Human Rights | International Women's Day | Washington DC | Women's Empowerment
Countries: Bangladesh
Cambodia’s Women Local Leaders Take Charge
March 6, 2013
This year, the Cambodian Ministry of Women’s Affairs’ 5-year strategic plan, known as the Neary Rattanak III, which aims to ensure gender equality for women, comes to a close. While serious obstacles remain, women have made great strides in Cambodia, particularly in the area of political participation.
Topics: Governance | International Development | Washington DC | Women's Empowerment
Countries: Cambodia

Last week in Nay Pyi Taw, H.E. U Zin Yaw, Myanmar’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Asia Foundation President