Showing 1 - 10 of 69
Asean centrality in a changing world
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 30/04/2024
» What is Asean centrality? It can mean different things to different people, but broadly, it can be seen as a regional framework that supports Asean's role as the dominant regional platform to overcome common challenges and engage with external powers.
The key to transforming a health crisis
Oped, Published on 25/04/2024
» Despite the relentless stream of bad news from around the world, there are still reasons for optimism. One notable example is the renewed push to localise pharmaceutical production in Africa, demonstrating how even catastrophic events like a pandemic can lead to positive, unforeseen outcomes.
What pandemic preparedness would look like
Oped, Published on 06/10/2023
» Humanity was caught off guard by the Covid-19 pandemic, even though we had effectively been warned by smaller-scale outbreaks -- of Sars, Ebola, Mers and avian flu -- for decades.
The precarious life of gorillas
Oped, Published on 27/09/2023
» Have you ever wondered what it is like to stand face to face with a creature so powerful yet so achingly human in its gaze? Imagine, for a moment, to be in the heart of Africa's mystical forests, surrounded by towering trees and the ethereal sounds of nature. And there, in that sacred realm, you find yourself in the presence of gorillas -- these gentle giants, our kin in the animal kingdom, who hold a mirror to our own humanity.
Time to prepare for the next health emergency
Oped, Published on 09/02/2023
» The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the weaknesses and lack of preparedness of health systems globally. When the virus was at its peak, many low- and middle-income countries struggled to save lives while sustaining essential medical services such as maternal health care, routine childhood immunisation, and the treatment of non-communicable diseases.
Cambodia, Asean need to step up in Rohingya crisis
Oped, Published on 03/08/2022
» Since August 2017, rampant persecution and violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state has pushed hundreds of thousands of Muslim minority people, known as the Rohingya, to abandon their homes and seek sanctuary in Bangladesh. According to the United Nations' estimation, 200,000 Myanmar civilians have already sought refuge in Bangladesh following prior displacements. Many more have travelled to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, frequently with the assistance of human traffickers.
Funding an end to scourge of polio
Oped, Published on 17/05/2022
» Growing up in India, I did not have access to the polio vaccine, and the disease paralysed my legs when I was an infant. As a result, I have undergone many surgeries and cannot walk without leg braces and crutches. My story is not unique. When the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was established in 1988 (I was ten at the time), the disease paralysed an estimated 350,000 children worldwide each year.
Tracing a path to Big Brother?
Oped, Editorial, Published on 23/05/2020
» As the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc, governments are turning to contact tracing -- a tactic used to control outbreaks of syphilis in the 1930s and more recently Ebola in West Africa.
How to develop a vaccine for all
Oped, Published on 30/04/2020
» In the early weeks of 2020, it started to dawn on people that Covid-19 could be the long-dreaded but expected "Disease X" -- a global pandemic caused by an unknown virus. Three months later, the majority of the world's population is in lockdown, and it is clear that we are only as healthy as our neighbours -- locally, nationally, and internationally.
Lockdown peril haunts abusive homes
Oped, Boonwara Sumano, Published on 22/04/2020
» Some of the key policies to curtail the widespread transmission of the coronavirus or Covid-19 are city-lockdowns and self-isolation. The Thai government has been urging people to stay at home and shut down places for mass gatherings, including schools and childcare centres, since March 22.