COOPERATION IN SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
(COSD)

1. The Fifteenth Meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Social Development (COSD) was held in Manila on 24-26 May 1990. The Meeting considered and endorsed the following project proposals submitted by the Subsidiary bodies under it for onward transmission to and consideration of the ASEAN Standing Committee :
   a. Prevention of Family Violence (AWP);
   b. ASEAN Youth Training Workshop (ASY);
   c. Exchange Programme for ASEAN Junior Youth Development Officers (ASY);
   d. Handicraft Workshop for ASEAN Youth (ASY);
   e. ASEAN Young Workers Workshop (ASY);
   f. Promotion of Self Employment and Development in the Informal Sector (ASCLA).
   
   
   Social Welfare.

2. After a lapse of 13 years, the ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Social Welfare met again for the second time in Kuala Lumpur on 26 March 1990 (the First Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Social Welfare was in 1977 in Jakarta). This Second Meeting, agreed among others to :
   a. adopt regional strategies for the development of social welfare in ASEAN community with the view to alleviating urgent social problems in ASEAN member countries;

   b. the enhancement and strengthening of cooperation to improve the quality of rural life in ASEAN through the holding of regional seminars, exchange of research findings and sharing of information;

   c. adopt the guiding principles for developmental social welfare policies and programmes and that such principles be included in the strategies and policies for social welfare in the ASEAN region;

   d. appoint a multi-disciplinary experts group to study the feasibility of establishing a network of information exchange among ASEAN member countries;

   e. the holding of a consultative meeting among social welfare experts and representatives of NGOs to formulate a set of recommended guidelines on the participation of NGOs in the development of social welfare at regional and national levels;

   f. regional policy and cooperation on sports for the disabled;

   g. training and exchange programmes on social welfare be further enhanced;

   h. the enhancement of regional collaboration in social welfare through the development of more effective implementation mechanism in the ASEAN structure; and

   i. the Organisation of a multi-agency experts group meeting to discuss the establishment of linkages among national adoption agencies.

   Health and Nutrition.

3. The ASEAN Sub-Committee on Health and Nutrition (ASCH & N) which met in Manila from 6-8 March 1990 reviewed the progress of the three on- going projects, i.e., ASEAN Scholarship Programme for Applied Tropical Medicine and Public Health (ASEAN-TROPMED); ASEAN Institute for Health Development (which started as the ASEAN Training Centre for Primary Health Care under ASEAN-Japan Human Resources Development) and ASEAN Technical Cooperation on Pharmaceuticals. In exploring regional strategies for a more effective collaboration on health and nutrition in the future, it was agreed that the thrusts would be on :
   a. nutrition surveillance and improvement;
   b. prevention and control of diabetes; and
   c. human resources development.
   
   
   Youth.

4. The 7th ASEAN Sub-Committee on Youth (ASY) met on 21-23 March 1990. For the enhancement of collaboration in the development of youth in the region, five new projects were endorsed for submission and consideration of the ASEAN Standing Committee :
   a. ASEAN Youth Training Workshop (ASY);
   b. Exchange Programme for ASEAN Junior Youth Development Officers (ASY);
   c. Handicraft Workshop for ASEAN Youth (ASY);
   d. ASEAN Young Workers Workshop (ASY);
   e. ASEAN Directory of Non-Government Youth Organization (a Philippine national project with participation from other ASEAN member countries on cost-sharing basis).
   
   
   Women

5. The Ninth Meeting of the ASEAN Women Programme (AWP) was held in Manila from 24-26 January 1990. The Meeting took cognizance of the difficulty in obtaining financial support for implementing projects and suggested the utilisation of local resources or the setting up of its own fund with contributions from intra- as well as extra-ASEAN resources.

   Population.

6. There was no ASEAN Heads of Population Programme (AHPP) Meeting in the period of 1989/1990.

   Labour.

7. The ASEAN Sub-Committee on Labour Affairs (ASCLA) met in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, from 12-14 September 1989 and agreed on its Terms of Reference. The Meeting further agreed on the following :
   a. that ASCLA is a subsidiary bodies under the COSD;

   b. that ASCLA be formally linked to the ASEAN Labour Ministers Meeting (ALMM) through the Senior Officials of the Ministries of Labour;

   c. that ASCLA be responsible to both the COSD and the ALMM for technical matters including planning, management and coordination of the ASEAN technical cooperation/collaborative projects on labour;

   d. that ASCLA will prepare recommendations on operational matters and policy issues on labour-related matters for ASEAN cooperation.

8. It also agreed that the Promotion of Self Employment and Development in the Informal Sector (PIACT) project be submitted to the 5th Cycle of UNDP; the ASEAN Labour Information Network (ALINE) be strengthened and for the development of a format for TCDC training fellowhip programme.

   Education.

9. The Fourth Meeting of the 23rd ASEAN Standing Committee approved the terms of reference of the ASEAN Sub-Committee on Education (SCOE). ASEAN Member countries were, however, requested to consult their respective lead agencies on the chairmanship of the Sub-Committee as well as the preferred date of its first meeting.

   Natural Disaster.

10. The Sixth Meeting of the ASEAN Experts Group on Natural Disasters (AEGND) met in Bangkok from 13-15 December 1989 after a lapse of six years. Thailand's agreement to be the Monitoring Country for Natural Disasters in the region helped resolve the issue of the rotation of the ASEAN Natural Disaster Centre.

    ASEAN Social Development Fund.

11. Like all the other ASEAN non-economic functional committees, the COSD continued to seek solutions to overcome the financial problem in implementing regional social development projects. The 15th COSD Meeting endorsed the creation of an ASEAN Social Development Fund (ASDF). The Meeting further agreed that the existing ASEAN Cultural Fund (ACF) be tapped as an initial source of fund for the ASDF. In addition to these the ASEAN Secretariat was assigned to study the possibility of tapping private organisations/foundations as possible sources of funds for social development projects.

    Handing-over of COSD-ITS Functions to the ASEAN Secretariat.

12. The 15th COSD Meeting also agreed to recommend to the ASEAN Standing Committee that the ASEAN Secretariat take over the functions of the COSD-ITS with the matter on the transfer of the Chairmanship of the Committee to be addressed at a later time. The ASEAN Standing Committee agreed to the COSD's recommendation for the ASEAN o73 Secretariat to take over the functions of the COSD-ITS.

    Conclusion

13. During the year under review, the sector of social development has not seen very much success in the implementation of its projects. Many projects under sub-sectors like Population, Women in Development, Labour, Health and Nutrition and Social Welfare have remained unimplementable due to the lack of funding. Only projects under the Youth sub-sector have been successfully implemented since they are small and inexpensive to finance. The search for innovative methods in seeking new sources of fund as well as the establishment of the ASEAN Social Development Fund may see some improvement in the years to come.