Social development
The poor
Thousands flee fighting near site of dam backed by Thailand
As many as 10,000 people in Kayin State in Myanmar have been displaced due to fighting over the Hat Gyi Dam construction site, as plans move forward to begin building on the Salween River. Activists have reported a human rights crisis in the area as more than 1,000 ...
Stakeholders hope capacity building continues once programme ends
Officials, experts and beneficiaries of a Norwegian assistance programme hope target communities continue the capacity development founded by the project once the support ends. They expressed this desire at the closure of support provided by Norwegian Church Aid, which has been implemented in 11 provinces of ...
KOICA to fund US$7 million maternal, child healthcare project
Experts from the Korea International Cooperation Agency last week conducted a preliminary study on improving access to maternal and child healthcare services in villages through mobile clinics, under the Korea Aid Project. Aligned with the strategies of the Lao government on public health and Korea’s Better ...
PM welcomes new WB Country Director in Vietnam
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc congratulated Ousmane Dione on his appointment as new Country Director for the World Bank in Vietnam at a reception at the Government’s headquarters in Hanoi on October 4. He said the WB is important to Vietnam and bilateral relations are being ...
Child nutrition still lagging in Cambodia: study
The government must boost efforts to eradicate malnutrition among Cambodia’s women and children, many of whom are still chronically malnourished despite improvements in recent years, according to a new report in the International Journal of Food and Nutritional Science. Basing the study on a review of ...
Global land rush enters “more dangerous stage”, says anti-poverty group
International land deals, often for giant agriculture projects, now cover an area the size of Germany and a growing share are getting up and running, fuelling fears that local residents will be displaced, the anti-poverty group Oxfam said on September 26. More than 1,500 large-scale land ...
Farming mega-mergers threaten food security, say campaigners
Deals would put the majority of seeds, chemicals and GM traits in the hands of three companies, deepening poverty for small-scale farmers. When an Indian farmer plants his cotton crop, there’s at least a 75% chance the seeds have been been bought from a company owned ...
Thailand pledges $1m to kick off ASEAN science development fund
Thailand will invest an initial US$1 million to establish a Science, Technology and Innovation Development Fund for ASEAN. After the first ASEAN Science & Technology Innovation Forum, held in Bangkok last week, Science and Technology Minister Pichet Durongkaveroj said the forum had come up with three plans to ...
Governors ordered to set up flood prevention and assistance centres
The Interior Ministry on September 25 ordered governors of provinces nationwide except in the South to set up flood prevention and alleviation centres to deal with ongoing flooding in many provinces. The order was issued by Interior Ministry permanent secretary Krissada Boonraj. Krissada stated in the order ...
Promises unmet as Thailand tries to reform shrimp industry
Facing international pressure for failing to stop human trafficking in its seafood sector, Thailand promised almost a year ago to compensate victims of slavery and industry leaders vowed to bring all shrimp processing in-house. That hasn’t always happened. Instead, some formerly enslaved shrimp peelers have been ...
