Prepared a research study for ADB and UNICEF to assess the current state of digital social protection systems in South Asia and the extent to which digital technologies can enable increased coverage of equitable services for children and low-income families.

Led and managed UNICEF Thailand’s country office social protection portfolio. Provided technical advice and assistance to the Royal Thai Government to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the national Social Protection System through improvement of the policy design features and delivery of large-scale national social protection programmes as well as strengthen linkages to other social services to optimize developmental impacts. The key programmes were the Child Support Grant (CSG), the Disability Grant (DG), the State Welfare Card (SWC), the Thailand People Map (TPMAP) and cash transfer programmes that were set up to enable effective response to shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, floods, and displaced populations from Myanmar.

Provided support to the UNICEF office in Lao PDR to set up a non-contributory cash transfer pilot program or the Mother and Early Childhood Grant (MECG), for children under two years of age, funded by the UN Joint Programme on Social Protection and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Government of Australia. Led coordination tasks with the Government, donors, and UN agencies. Planned, managed, and monitored the social protection portfolio of the UNICEF Lao PDR Country Office, and built the capacities of national staff on social protection with a focus on cash transfers to children.

Collected and updated social protection data and indicators in Thailand and prepared a country case-study report based on ADB's Revised Social Protection Index: Methodology and Handbook (2011), covering the most relevant social protection programs in 2014/2015. This case study was included in the Social Protection Indicator for ASIA report, published by ADB in 2019.

I provided technical advice and supported to the Government of Cambodia in particular Ministry of Economics and Finance (MEF) and the Council for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) on the following asginments.▪ Conducted a detailed financial assessment study of social assistance schemes in Cambodia, including the income support program for children and pregnant women, the school feeding program, scholarship scheme, retirement pension mechanism, and the disability pension. ▪ Carried out a financial assessment of a Health Insurance Scheme for Public Employees with recommendations on the proposed contribution rate, benefit package, provider payment mechanism and governance architecture. ▪ Developed a technical note on Design Options on Pension for Public Sector Employees, taking into account the current provision as well as international best practices.

I provided technical advice and support to the Social Security Board (SSB) of Myanmar to strengthen its staff’s capacity on monitoring and actuarial valuation of social security benefits stipulated in the 2012 Social Security Law. To be more specific, I (i)conducted a financial assessment of social security schemes in Myanmar, an analysis of the statistical data available from the Management Information System of the Social Security Board (SSB), (ii)developed monitoring framework and indicators, (iii) constructed a basic actuarial model used determine contribution rates, to calibrate benefit levels and to provide future financial projections of each existing scheme, namely the medical care, sickness, maternity and work injury schemes, (iv) organized a series of trainings to the SSB technical staff on data collection methods, data analysis, monitoring framework and indicators, and the preparation of financial projections for social security schemes and (v) conducted a rapid assessment of the newly established Management Information System (MIS) of the Social Security Fund (SSF)

Undertook an actuarial valuation to assess short- and long-term demographic and financial developments of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) of Lao PDR, which had been recently established in accordance with the 2013 Social Security Law to provide social security benefits to public and private sector employees. The actuarial valuation also helped assess the cost of alternative policy options and thus fed into the ongoing design process. This was particularly relevant for benefit branches for which the benefit formula had not been finalized. Key tasks included secondary data collection on demography, economy and schemes’ specific utilizations and expenditures, establishment of demographic and financial models with scenarios, production of a report with recommendations.

The Social Security Office manages the Social Security Fund (SSF), providing social security benefits for formal and informal sector workers in Thailand, covering more than 13 million people in Thailand. I was responsible for preparing the demographic and financial projections of the Social Security Fund (SSF) and providing recommendations to the management and the Social Security Committee to ensure the financial sustainability, expansion of coverage, and benefit adequacy of the SSF.