COOPERATION IN
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
(COSD)
During the period under review, the
ASEAN Committee on Social Development
(COSD) continued with its assigned responsibility
of coordinating and monitoring of
implementation of projects and activities of
subsidiary bodies under it. Most if not all of
these were youth-oriented projects drawing
assistance mainly from the Japanese-ASEAN
Exchange Programme (JAEP). Most of the other
projects under the COSD were not carried out
due to the inability of obtaining financial
assistance for their implementation. The following
COSD projects were also submitted for the
consideration of the UNDP under its 5th Inter
Country Programme (5th ICP):
1. Community-Based Health and Social
Programme for the Elderly
2. Strengthening Population/Family Planning Programme Management
3. Reduction on Infant Mortality Rates
4. ASEAN Training and Information
Center for Improvement of Working
Conditions and Environment (PIACT)
5. Establishment of ASEAN Nutrition
Surveillance
6. Prevention of Family Violence
7. Evaluation of the Performance and
Effectiveness of Professional Staff in
Teacher Education Institution
8. Development of Computers-In-Education for Schools in the ASEAN Region
9. ASEAN Diabetes Prevention and
Control Project
10. Integrating Population and Development Planning in ASEAN.
11. Urbanization in Development in
ASEAN
12. Network on Indicators and Statistics on
Women
13. ASEAN Population Coordination Unit
(APCU)
14. Promotion of Self Employment and
Development in the Informal Sector.
15. ASEAN Network for Women in Vocational Training
2 For the period of 1990/91, the COSD did not
meet. However, following the normal ASEAN
practice of rotation, the Chairpersonship of the
Committee was rotated to Singapore after
having remained with the Philippines for the
preceding three years. Likewise, the Chair-
personship of some of its subsidiary bodies were
also rotated to Singapore from the Philippines.
The affected bodies were the subcommittees on
Health and Nutrition, Youth and the ASEAN
Women's Programme.
3 Another unprecedented and significant
development that had happened to the Committee
in the period under review is the transfer
of its Interim Technical Secretariat (ITS) from
an ASEAN member-country to the ASEAN
Secretariat. Pursuant to the decision made at the
15th Meeting of COSD in may 1990 in Manila
which was subsequently endorsed by the 5th
Meeting of the 23rd ASEAN Standing Committee
in Jakarta in July 1990, the ASEAN Secretariat
took over as the ITS of the COSD in January 1,
1991. A Coordinating Meeting of the ITS and the
Chairperson of the COSD was held in Singapore
in March 1991 to discuss the working relation-
ship between the two parties.
4 In 1991, three subsidiary bodies under the
COSD held their meetings in Singapore. These
were the 8th Meeting of the ASEAN Sub-
committee on Youth (26 - 28 February 1991); the
9th Meeting of the ASEAN Subcommittee on
Health and Nutrition (ASCH&N) held on 23 - 25
April 1991 and the 10th Meeting of the ASEAN
Women's Programme (24 - 26 April 1991).
Health and Nutrition
5 The ASCH&N reviewed the implementation
of the projects and activities under it and
noted that due to the absence of financial
assistance projects related to children's health
and other common ailments like the diabetes
control could not be implemented. It also
considered the proposal of the ASEAN Working
Group on Technical Cooperation on Pharmaceuticals
for the extension of its existing project
into Phase IV to be supported by the UNDP
under its 5th ICP. On the ASEAN Scholarship
Programme for Applied Tropical Medicine and
Public Health (ASEAN-TROPMED) which is
currently being funded by the USAID and which
is due to expire in 1992, the Meeting had
requested the USAID to further continue its
support. However, the body is willing to accept
financial assistance from other parties if the US
is no longer supporting it.
Youth
6 The ASEAN Sub-Committee on Youth
(ASY) has had a fairly successful year as a
number of its projects had either been implemented
or had obtained funding for their implementation.
These projects were among others:
1 .The ASEAN Youth Training Workshop
(JAEP), 14 - 21 May 1991, Malaysia.
2. Exchange Programme of ASEAN Junior
Youth Development Officers (JAEP),
Philippines
3. The ASEAN Young Workers Forum
(JAEP), Philippines,
4. The Handicraft Workshop for ASEAN
Youth (JAEP), Thailand
5. ASEAN Volunteers Corps Exchange
Programme (JAEP), (Thailand)
6. Workshop on Entrepreneurial Development
for Youth (JAEP), (Malaysia),
7. Workshop on Training for Programme
Managers and Associated Personnel on
Skill Training for Out-of-School Youth
(JAEP), (Malaysia).
7 The ASY had a further bonus when the
Manila-based Ramon Magsaysay Foundation
(RMF) agreed to provide financial assistance to
its ASEAN Youth Directory Project. At its
last Meeting the ASY had recommended the
following project proposals for the COSD's
consideration:
1 .Computer Application Camp for ASEAN
Youth Workers (Singapore)
2. Research Project Proposal Evaluation
on ASEAN Youth Participation in International
Youth Exchange Programme:
The Ship for South East ASEAN Youth
Programme and the Friendship Programme
for the 21st Century (Indonesia)
3. ASEAN Youth Day (Indonesia).
Women
8 The ASEAN Women Programme (AWP),
realizing the reality of the not being able to get
financial assistance did not propose any new
projects and activities at its 10th meeting. It only
endorsed for implementation the UNDP-funded
project on ASEAN Vocational Training for
Women the project document of which was
formulated by the ILO. It also appreciated the
efforts done by Indonesia in getting the financial
assistance on its own in order to complete
the Thesaurus projects. The AWP also lauded
Canada's offer of assistance for women in
development project announced at the 7th
ASEAN-Canada Joint Cooperation Committee in
Ottawa. Further discussion would be held to
formulate the necessary projects under the
assistance programme.
ASEAN Social Development Fund
9 In trying to establish the ASEAN Social
Development Fund (ASDF), several attempts
were made to obtain support from the Government
of Japan to provide "seed money".
Approaches to Japan included a demarche by
ASEAN Ambassadors in Tokyo to the Japanese
Foreign Ministry. The effort proved unsuccessful.
The ASEAN suggestion to tap part of the
existing ASEAN Cultural Fund for the ASDF was
also turned down by the Japanese. At the 12th
ASEAN-Japan Forum on 19-20 September 1990
in Tokyo, the Japanese Government had re-
quested ASEAN to submit the the list of social
development projects which are expected to be
funded by the ASDF. The Japanese response to
the list of projects submitted were still being
awaited.
Conclusion
10 it is quite apparent that the period under
review has not been something to be lauded at.
Most of social development projects had remained
unimplemented. The failure to launch off
the ASDF had been a setback. The alternative
remains that to ensure their implementability
of these projects, ASEAN may have to rely on
internal source of funding.
For more information, please refer to the
Table 1 and
Table 2