Asia is an extremely diverse region, home to people from a huge mix of cultures, religions and languages. Two-thirds of the world’s poorest people live in Asia, with 800 million people surviving on less than a dollar a day. According to the UN, 61.5% of the world’s young people live in Asia, and despite the regions’ booming economy, the majority face extreme poverty, characterised by short life expectancy, low literacy and high levels of malnutrition. Young people are severely disadvantaged through a lack of access to basic education and skills training. The increasing prevalence of HIV and AIDS is a huge challenge. Young people form a large proportion of those infected and affected, yet awareness levels are still very low. The region is also regularly devastated by disasters; frequent floods, drought, cyclones and earthquakes have a huge immediate impact, as well as drastically slowing long-term development.