KATHMANDU, MARCH 7

The last few years have ushered in a harsh new reality where crises are the norm rather than the exception. Pandemics, economic slumps and extreme weather events were once tail-end risks, but all three have hit South Asia in rapid succession since 2020.

COVID-19 alone put millions of lives and livelihoods at risk and its impacts have already undermined decades of development gains.

This is deeply distressing because the knowledge, skills and health that people accumulate - their human capital - is a critical source of the resilience that countries rely on for recovery. To strengthen resilience and protect the well-being of future generations, governments across South Asia need to take urgent policy action and invest in human capital. South Asia's people are its biggest asset but remain wastefully underutilized.

With nearly half its population under the age of 24 and over one million young people set to enter the labor force every month until 2030, the region could reap an enviably high demographic dividend. But South Asia is also home to over one third of the world's stunted children.

A version of this article appears in the print on March 8, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.