On 6 June 2025 on 5:30 – 7:00 pm, SEA Junction in partnership with The Equity Initiative Fellowship discussed the recently published book “Why People Get Sick – and Some More Than Others” by three Equity Fellows, also known as the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity in Southeast Asia (AFHESEA), Clive Tan, Putri Widi Saraswati, and Eaint Thiri Thu.

This compelling collection of lived experiences from across Southeast Asia invites readers to rethink what truly shapes our health. So much of health is rooted in what is collectively known as social determinants of health. It means the conditions and environment in which people are born, grow, live, interact, work and age. People with disadvantaged backgrounds often face barriers to good health. This means they get sick more easily, and it is harder for them to recover. The book illustrates how health inequities are shaped by a multitude of intersecting factors and how identity, income, injustice, and social conditions impact health outcomes.

The event meant to open a space for dialogue on health equity in Southeast Asia and beyond through an interactive conversation with independent public health scholar Piya Hanvoravongchai, the book’s authors, and among participants. Stories about social justice and collective well-being were shared to exchange, gain deeper understanding of the issues at stake, and help spark the momentum needed to address systemic inequities. The dialogue was moderated by Suebpong Charoenmechaikul.

Speakers and Moderator

Piya Hanvoravongchai is an independent scholar specializing in health policy and system research and health equity in Thailand and Southeast Asia. He currently consults for the CMB Foundation (Southeast Asia program) and WHO (Bangladesh).

Putri Widi Saraswati (they/them/she) is an Indonesian intersectional and decolonial feminist, global public health specialist, and medical doctor currently based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. They primarily work at the intersection of health and social justice issues. Putri is a fellow of The Equity Initiative Fellowship.

Clive Tan is a medical doctor, educator and a public health specialist. He is working in the area of health services and health systems, and is currently based in Singapore. He is a fellow of The Equity Initiative Fellowship.

Suebpong Charoenmechaikul helps people sleep, eat, move, & connect with others better, so that they don’t get sick. He is learning how to live to 100 with purpose, & sharing his “lived” experiences with others around the world from his base in Bangkok, Thailand. He is a fellow of The Equity Initiative Fellowship.

Photographer: Chawin Chantalikit and Vinissa Kattiya-aree