Diverse Voices, Shared Future: Advancing Social Inclusion in the Asia-Pacific
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Asia-Pacific Leads the Way in Inclusive and Sustainable Development
A scavenger carrying a sack of used plastic bottles and other used goods walks past sacks of disposed household items on a truck in Surabaya on July 15, 2025. (Photo by JUNI KRISWANTO / AFP)
The Second World Summit for social Development, held in Qatar earlier this month, marked an vital moment for global efforts to advance inclusive, equitable and sustainable development. Throughout the Summit,contributions from the Asia-Pacific region demonstrated that diversity is not a barrier but a strength in crafting people-centered solutions.
Countries showcased innovative and scalable approaches to social protection,intergenerational solidarity,care economy transformation and poverty reduction. These efforts, rooted in local realities and scaled through regional cooperation supported by ESCAP, offer valuable lessons for the world.
Social protection is a powerful tool for reducing poverty and inequality. With the right investments and reforms, it has even greater potential to drive inclusive and equitable development in the future as countries face added risks due to climate change.
Social Protection: A Shield Against Poverty and Climate Change
Indonesia’s large household cash transfer program, Program Keluarga Harapan, has helped improve households’ livelihood capital and coping capacities in the face of climate change events, especially those relying on climate-sensitive sectors such as food systems or other natural resource-dependent activities.
Public work programs, such as the Fiji for Jobs 2.0 or Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, help rural households adapt to climate shocks and improve livelihoods while creating climate resilient community infrastructure.
For many countries in the region, top-ups to non-contributory cash transfers are frequently enough used to swiftly extend emergency relief to large numbers of households. In Nepal, forecast-based financing allows the release of funding for pre-defined early actions, including social protection transfers, before a disaster occurs. This reduces the impact on vulnerable communities.
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