Asia Catalyst builds strong civil society and advances the right to health for marginalized groups in Asia. They train leaders of community-based organizations to run effective, sustainable, and democratic organizations, and to conduct rigorous human rights research and advocacy. They are an independent organization that places the needs of marginalized communities at the center of national, regional, and international policy making. 

Core Values

Marginalized groups are at the center of their core values. They believe that amplifying the voices and experiences of marginalized groups will lead to a more just environment for all. Their four core values are:

Partnership: Asia Catalyst partners with members of marginalized communities, placing the experiences and needs of communities at the forefront of all programming. They believe that their partners have an invaluable understanding of the needs and circumstances of the groups that they represent and—with the right support and resources—are best positioned to advocate for their own rights.

Excellence: Asia Catalyst constantly strives to ensure program excellence and value. They employ rigorous monitoring and evaluation of all their activities, and employ expert staff to deliver highest standards of programming. Their advocacy is influencing policy globally.

Community: Asia Catalyst acts based on the stated needs of marginalized communities, designing tailor-made programs to address their priorities within their own local contexts. Their needs become their priorities. They enable them to act at the local, national, and international levels.

Results: Asia Catalyst has a responsibility to ensure that their results, as well as their operations, are sustainable. They ensure maximum and measurable impact through community ownership of all programs, local knowledge transfer, peer-to-peer applied learning, and support for strategic advocacy initiatives.

Vision

Together, their mission and core values contribute to Asia Catalyst’s vision for a better world wherein:

Stable and independent Asian CBOs have the space, expertise, and capacity to conduct effective advocacy for the respect, protection, and fulfillment of the right to health for their communities.

Impact

Since 2006, Asia Catalyst has directly increased the capacity of over 200 community based organizations (CBOs) from 11 countries, representing thousands of marginalized communities across Asia.

Evidence from rigorous monitoring and evaluation, validated thorough independent external evaluations in 2013 and 2014, has confirmed that their programs produce “more effective, efficient, relevant, and sustainable community based organizations.”

Their partners measurably increase skills in human rights, sustainable organizational management, and rights-based documentation and advocacy.