The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, our work across the region addresses five overarching goals—strengthen governance, empower women, expand economic opportunity, increase environmental resilience, and promote regional cooperation. Headquartered in San Francisco, The Asia Foundation works through a network of offices in 18 Asian countries and in Washington, DC. Working with public and private partners, the Foundation receives funding from a diverse group of bilateral and multilateral development agencies, foundations, corporations, and individuals. In 2018, we provided $82.9 million in direct program support and distributed textbooks and other educational materials valued at $10.4 million.
A new report series, Covid-19 & The New Normal for Women in the Economy in South Asia, provides strong empirical evidence that the economic impact of the pandemic is expected to be particularly significant for women in South Asia, one of the top five affected regions in the world. The Asia Foundation’s regional synthesis report draws on four country-level studies in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan to present the immediate consequences of the pandemic on women, including informal sector workers and enterprises.
Additional Foundation reports on the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic across Asia are available, including research conducted on ASEAN, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Timor-Leste.