Social development
The poor
Republic of Korea provides US$9 million for rural development
The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry signed a Record of Discussion online on November 1 to initiate the Integrated Rural Development Project in Champassask, Saravan and Xekong provinces. The 5-year project is being implemented until 2025 with a total ...
Times Reporters
Back to the land: Thai forest draws young, green farmers
Like many locals, Matthana Abhaimoon left rural Thailand to study in the city. Unlike most, she chose to come back – and fight for her right to farm in the forest as her forefathers had done. After a 20-year campaign, residents of Mae Tha won a ...
Rina Chandran
Myanmar’s hidden hunger
Khin, a 59-year-old rice farmer, faced a distressing choice at the height of Myanmar’s monsoon season three months ago: sell a cow, a prized asset for agricultural households, or go hungry. She sold the animal for half its value. The proceeds went to buy food for ...
Thin Lei Win
Proper nutrition feeds into safer pregnancies and healthy children
Every day families welcome new life into the world. New parents and caregivers want to ensure each child gets the best start but the most basic of needs, proper nutrition, is not equitably accessible. This has devastating effects. Nearly half of all deaths in children under ...
STÉPHANE VIDRY AND BOON YEE YEONG
UN Says Poverty in Myanmar at Worst Level in 20 Years Following Coup
The UN’s top humanitarian official in Myanmar said on Thursday the country’s people are living in “a severe crisis,” with a level of poverty not seen for at least 20 years. In a virtual briefing for UN correspondents, Andrew Kirkwood said the number of people in ...
THE IRRAWADDY
Thai students suffer inequality and poor mental health as pandemic lingers
At a protest earlier this month, a large banner was unfurled on the side of an overpass that read, “1.8 million children are about to fall out of the school system due to online instruction that doesn’t give a shit about them.” A young girl ...
MARK S. COGAN
Laos and China innovate poverty reduction cooperation along Mekong River
Sept. 11 (Xinhua): Along the Mekong River which winds through the mountains in northern and central Laos, the poverty alleviation projects with China aid are solidly advanced there with innovation made. In the steepy mountains and deep valleys of the Mekong River Basin, infrastructure is weak. ...
Improving Food Security Through Capacity Building
Millions of people suffer from food insecurity around the globe. With the help of Earth-observing satellites, the NASA-USAID SERVIR project is hoping to reduce that number. Food security – the consistent availability and affordability of food – is a basic human need, yet it remains elusive ...
Esprit Smith, NASA’s Earth Science News Team
Fighting Poverty by Protecting Landscapes
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the World Bank have launched a $57 million Lao Landscapes and Livelihoods Project that will generate jobs and income in rural areas by promoting investment in environmentally sustainable and socially-responsible forest and landscape management, and in the preservation of Lao ...
The World Bank
Vientiane releases millions of fish to ensure food security
Vientiane plans to release an additional two million fish back into the river to meet the government’s goal of releasing 58 million fish this year to ensure food security. This was informed by the Director of Vientiane Agriculture and Forestry Department, Dr Lasay Nouanthasing, on July ...
Times Reporters
