Aid & Development Asia Summit 2016 - Best of the Summit

10 August 2016

The 2nd annual Aid & Development Asia Summit gathered over 290 local, regional and global humanitarian and development professionals from NGOs, UN agencies, donors, governments and the private sector with an aim to share knowledge, discover success stories or learn from failures, foster innovation and partnerships to assist the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in South-East Asia.

The 45+ expert speaker panel shared valuable insights, lead thought provoking discussions and lively exchange of views on a range of vital topics including mobile innovations, partnerships and technologies for humanitarian and development work, emergency response, humanitarian logistics, disaster resilience as well as health & WASH programmes and good practice.

The opening panel of the Aid & Development Asia Summit 2016 focused on mobile innovations for humanitarian and development work. The panellists, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Asian Development Bank, UNESCAP, USAID and FHI 360, discussed the impact of mobile devices on development work and utilising mobile technology to better reach and engage communities. It was agreed that improvements in broadband connectivity can be a game-changer in Asia-Pacific, provided that infrastructure, regulatory framework to ensure access and awareness of socio-economic benefits of ICT come together.

Emergency response collaboration and building resilience was discussed by the Thai Ministry of Interior, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), World Food Programme (WFP), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), FundLife International, Habitat for Humanity International and World Vision International, who presented new initiatives and guidelines for emergency response in Asia Pacific and accountability for transitioning from post-disaster management to community development. According to the case study by Save the Children, 99% of children in crisis situations see education as a priority. The final discussion of Day One was on lessons learned from Nepal with participation of IOM, BBC Media Action, Association of Youth Organizations Nepal (AYON), ADB and WFP. The panel was moderated by ReliefWeb.

Day Two of the Aid & Development Asia Summit commenced with a keynote speech and presentation on emergency health response by the Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, following an update on health programmes on disease prevention and control, including malaria, TB, HIV, dengue fever, HIV/AIDS.

International Rescue Committee, B Medical Systems, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Sanofi Pasteur, Malaria Consortium, Telecoms Sans Frontieres, NRS international, CARE India and SATMED discussed latest trends, collaboration and challenges of implementing innovative solutions, like mHealth, in Myanmar, Nepal and Syria.

The participants benefited from networking opportunities during the refreshment breaks, lunch and an evening reception as well as exhibition of cutting-edge products by dedicated partners including B Medical Systems (Gold Sponsor), Sanofi Pasteur (Summit Supporter), Inmarsat Global, JCB South East Asia, TÜV SÜD Water Services (Bronze Sponsors), Coleman Japan Co., Danoffice IT, Greenlight Planet, New Holland Agriculture and CNH Industrial, NRS International, Portsmouth Aviation, RMA Group, Shobikaa Impex Private limited and Duranet LLIN, Thuraya Telecommunications Company, TrapBag Flood & Erosion Protection as well as Johnson & Johnson and SATMED (Sponsors).

Media and event partners included American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (AMCHAM), Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), Asian NGO, Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST), Crisis Response Journal, Development Finance, Developing Telecoms, Global health Council, Relief Web, UN Development Business, Thailand Business News, Asian Military Review, The Malaysian Times, South East Asia Globe, Alliance Magazine, Research SEA, SciDevNet, Emergency Manager’s Weekly Report, NGO News, Humanitarian Logistics Association, Logistics Matter and Market Publishers.

As an organisation, the Aid & International Development Forum (AIDF) strives to be a catalyst of cross-sector collaboration and innovation by bringing together all stakeholders from government, UN agencies, intergovernmental agencies, NGOs and the private sector at the various AIDF Summits.

For more information please contact:
Alina O’Keeffe, Marketing Manager, T: +44 (0)20 7871 0123 ext. 232 E: aokeeffe@aidforum.org @FollowAIDF @AlinaAIDF

For more information about the Aid & Development Asia 2016, please visit: http://asia.aidforum.org

Post event report and materials http://asia.aidforum.org/why-attend/highlights_2016

Event photos https://goo.gl/photos/8bHPW8cj8Y8hy79u8