Water is vital to human lives, as well as fundamental to all development issues. Asia and the Pacific are facing serious challenges both in terms of the quantity and quality of water in sustaining its long term economic growth prospects and achieving sustainable development.
The “Quick Guide for Policy Makers on Pro-Poor Urban Climate Resilience in Asia and the Pacific” focuses on the need to enhance understanding of the region’s key urban stakeholders on climate change, discusses how it affects efforts to realize sustainable urban development, and explores what actions can be taken to synergize continued commitments to poverty reduction alongside urban climate resilience.
Myanmar holds considerable promise, for businesses both domestic and foreign, as well as for development practitioners, confident of seeing a rapid transformation in economic conditions and quality of life in general. Nevertheless, while the country has attracted substantial interest from around the world, there are still many gaps in knowledge. In-depth information about the conditions facing the private sector, as well as the perspectives of the various members of the private sector, is still in the process of being uncovered.
This issue based on the Statistical Yearbook 2014 (http://www.unescap.org/resources/statistical-yearbook-asia-and-pacific-2014), released on 9 December 2014. It highlights some of the social issues and policy challenges in Asia and the Pacific, some of the links between these issues, and the role of data in making better decisions in future to ensure no one is left behind.
The first Asia-Pacific Modernization Newsletter produced by the Strategic Advisory Body for the Modernization of Statistical Production and Services in Asia and the Pacific (SAB-AP) and the Modernization Working Group on Production, Methods and Standards (MWG). This newsletter is designed to be an easy way to access information and resources about the regional and global work on modernization, in particular tailored to the needs of Asia and the Pacific. It will also tell you about the work of the SAB-AP and the MWG.
2014 Year-end Update Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific
Asia and the Pacific is forecast to see a moderate increase in growth in 2015. This will be driven by better growth in a range of developing economies, aided by structural reform programmes which are likely to improve the domestic business environment. Several exporting economies will exhibit relatively unchanged growth at moderate levels, with a positive factor being the seemingly sustained recovery in the United States, although slow growth in the eurozone and Japan will remain a challenge.
The Asia-Pacific Statistics Newsletter, Fourth Quarter 2014, provides information on "The first Ministerial Conference on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) in Asia and the Pacific"; features an Interview with Mr Trevor Sutton, Deputy Australian Statistician and Chair of the Strategic Advisory Body for the Modernization of Statistical Production and Services in Asia and the Pacific (SAB-AP); provides update on the areas of work; and announces important events and meetings.
Rising inequality as well as the need to build resilience to crises, whether economic and financial crises, or natural disasters, have increased the call for strengthening social protection in the Asia-Pacific region.
To strengthen social protection, most countries in the region have already set in place income support schemes, often targeted towards certain vulnerable groups. Those include schemes for providing universal social pensions for older persons, income support schemes targeted at poor families, schemes targeting women, as well as food-for-work schemes.
This Guidance Document aims to support country stakeholders including governments, Joint UN Teams on AIDS, civil society partners and others to undertake a review of national laws, policies and practices to enable full achievement of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services, and to conduct a national, multisectoral consultation on legal and policy barriers to HIV services for PLHIV and key populations.
The Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific provides the Asian and Pacific region, and the world, with the first set of regionally agreed disability-inclusive development goals. The Incheon Strategy goals cover a range of development areas from poverty reduction and employment to political participation, accessibility, social protection, education, gender equality, disaster risk reduction, data collection, CRPD ratification and international cooperation.
