Social protection helps lift people out of poverty and enhances access to basic social services. It also builds human capital while increasing access to formal employment, incomes, and savings. In Asia, social protection programs in East Timor, Nepal, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Krygyz Republic, and South Korea share common challenges that hinder people from enjoying their benefits. These include difficulty in targeting beneficiaries, inconsistent policies, and lack of funding.This presentation proposes several recommendation to address these difficulties.

Primary healthcare forms an integral part of the country’s health system and its provision in densely populated urban areas can be challenging.

Learn about the the importance and avenues of primary healthcare and the challenges of providing universal health coverage in urban areas. The presentation features discussions of ADB interventions in Bangladesh and India, urban health frameworks, and the elements of healthy cities.

What is health security? What are public goods? Why is health security a public good?

How important are government interventions in healthcare? How can public-private partnerships help?

Why are government inventions in the health sector important? What are the types of government interventions in the health sector? Is public-private partnership necessary in providing healthcare? How does private health insurance work? This slide presentation provides the answers to these fundamental questions about national healthcare provision and public health systems.

Empowering women and promoting gender equality, Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), has a catalytic effect in the achievement of other SDGs. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) integrates gender mainstreaming in its technical and vocational education and training programs. In addition to providing overall TVET assistance to girls, ADB also supports their participation in non-traditional sectors.

While developing Asia has made large strides in expanding school enrollments, it must make more efforts in improving learning outcomes. Meeting the requirements of both the supply and demand side is essential to improve educational quality and learning outcomes.

Work-based learning as a key part of the overall skill development system implies effective employer engagement. Governments need to assure an adequate and equitable access to initial and continuous vocational education and training, which are well targeted to meet employers’ evolving needs and promote economic development.

India's irrigation system is challenged by increasing water demand and very low water use efficiency. To address these concerns, the National Water Use Efficiency Improvement Support Program (NWUEISP) was piloted in two sites: Dharoi in Gujarat and Sanjay Sarovar in Madhya Pradesh. The NWUEISP study takes stock of water use efficiency issues and proposes a framework to assess performance and identify main causes of low efficiency. It also proposes a modernization plan for India's irrigation system.

Migration is highly influenced by the changing demography, economic situation, and policies of destination countries. Those with ageing populations will have a greater need for migrant workers. Those with higher wage rates will attract more workers from different countries. Local policies also affect the number of migrant workers. These and other factors affect the number of migrant workers, and consequently, remittance flows.

Armie Jarin-Bennett, president of CNN Philippines, speaks about her experiences as a female journalist and how gender-related stereotyping and expectations have presented challenges throughout her career. This year's ADB's Distinguished Gender Month Speaker says mentoring is important in empowering women, and notes that dismantling gender stereotypes remains a challenge.