Anthea Mulakala

Anthea Mulakala is the senior director for International Development Cooperation at The Asia Foundation. She is an accomplished development leader, manager, and policy specialist with more than 25 years of experience living and working in Asia. She has led and managed diverse teams, directly and remotely, to deliver high-impact programs in reproductive health, conflict prevention and peacebuilding, governance, and regional cooperation. Over the last decade, she has honed her expertise in Asian development cooperation, particularly in understanding how rising powers, such as China and India, are transforming the 21st-century aid and development landscape. In addition to developing and implementing programs, she also writes, publishes, and speaks extensively on these issues. Before the Asia Foundation, she worked for The World Bank, UK DFID, the City of Melbourne, and the South Asia Partnership. In 2015 she founded MakanLah!, a Malaysian social enterprise that addresses the crisis of childhood obesity and poor nutrition in Malaysia.