At the end of December 2019, as I was moving from New Delhi to what I thought would be a leisurely retirement in Manila, I was complacent. The events that have buffeted the world since then, if I even thought of them, would have seemed to be total fantasy.
I certainly did not foresee a deadly global pandemic that would lead to almost 15 million excess deaths in just two short years and the return of trench warfare in Europe. These disruptions have had tragic consequences, not only for those directly affected, but also for those impacted by the knock-on economic effects, such as through the loss of economic opportunities and high prices.
No one is spared, but the negative effects are more pronounced for those already living in vulnerable areas, either because of recent conflicts or because of the small size of their economies. In Asia and the Pacific, this includes the significant populations of countries experiencing conflict like Afghanistan and Myanmar, as well as those in small-island economies like Fiji and Palau. Alas, some countries are vulnerable because they both conflicted and isolated, such as Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.
