Articles Category: Children

Environmental changes have been wreaking havoc on Southeast Asian communities.

ASEAN’s aspiration to produce a highly skilled and productive workforce to prop up economic growth may be in peril.

Recovering swiftly from the COVID-19 pandemic and building a crisis-resilient regional health system remain the top priorities of the ASEAN health sector.

The call for impactful and sustainable actions to end child labour is more urgent now, as the world faces a protracted pandemic and an impending global economic crisis. For over a decade, ASEAN has joined forces to combat the worst forms of child labou

A child shall have the right to Children have the right to think for The ASEAN Ministers of Social Welfare and freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontie

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, ASEAN Member States have seen school closures impacting more than 152 million children in the Southeast Asian region (Thomas, 2022). School closures and the sudden transition from face-to-face to digital modalities

During its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023, Indonesia advanced the One Health Initiative as a key deliverable. Health Minister Budi G. Sadikin offers invaluable insights into Indonesia’s efforts to champion the One Health approach, highlighting its strategi

As the Chair of ASEAN in 2024 and the ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting (AHMM), Lao PDR has set a significant agenda under the theme “Health: Transforming ASEAN Health Development Resilience in a New Context.” In this interview, Minister Bounfeng Phoummal

Bullying of children is becoming a pervasive concern in the region. Director General Luu Quang Tuan shares with The ASEAN, some of the initiatives started by ASEAN to protect children from bullying, both online and offline.

ACWC is a consultative body that supports the work of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Social Welfare and Development. ACWC Chair and Cambodian Ministry of Women’s Affairs Under Secretary Hou Nirmita talks about the role of the Commission in securing t

Minister Khattiya provides an overview of ASEAN’s goals and strategies for upholding the rights and advancing the well-being of children in the region. She talks about the progress made in terms of protecting children from violence and increasing acces

Tourism has been one of the hardest- hit sectors by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Secretary Romulo-Puyat talks to The ASEAN about the pandemic’s impact on the Philippines’ tourism industry, on jobs and businesses, and how the country is working towa

Fifty-four-year-old I Gusti Agung Kusuma Yudha Rai, better known as Ade Rai, is an Indonesian all-natural bodybuilder, fitness icon, and advocate for a healthy lifestyle.

Thirty-one year-old Pingann Oung is a prominent social media influencer in Cambodia, known for promoting healthy lifestyles and overall well-being. His rise to fame began unexpectedly as an advocate for women’s health, which quickly garnered him a subs

The COVID-19 pandemic was particularly trying for Philippines-based OB-Gynecologist Marites Barrientos, known as “Doc Tess” to her patients. For someone who finds immense joy in caring for expectant mothers and delivering babies, it was challenging to

Warni Ibrahim vividly recalls the tumultuous period of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the past decade, 39-year-old Warni has worked as a migrant domestic worker. She first worked as a nanny before transitioning to her current role as a live-in caregiver fo

Months into the pandemic, Dr. Disa Edralyn understood that the risk of contracting the coronavirus is higher for medical workers in Indonesia. The 27-year-old doctor, who is currently inactive to focus on her speciality study on anaesthesiology, was te

Children relate their experiences and feelings in the most fascinating and amusing ways. But their stories are often insightful and profound, giving us a glimpse of how they view the world. During the pandemic, the view for Hannah and Callum Goh and Za