Published since 1986 by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Asia-Pacific Population Journal brings out high-quality, evidence-based and forward-looking articles on a wide range of population and development issues in Asia and the Pacific.

Over the past two decades, the Asia-Pacific region has witnessed a number of economic crises that have threatened progress towards reducing poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. These crises reflect the increased risks associated with globalization, especially for the poor and those without voice. In addition, several countries in Asia and the Pacific have been profoundly affected by high-impact natural disasters which have exposed vulnerabilities and amplified the insecurities of many people’s livelihoods. This has especially been the case for poor households located in rural areas. Such crises and development challenges have generated renewed interest in social protection as a tool to mitigate not only the impacts of shocks but also to help accelerate the recovery of people most affected by such events. Much of this interest has focused on the risks and vulnerabilities that have emerged as a result of specific events and, consequently, social protection initiatives have tended to be reactive rather than proactive. Yet, it is also known that poverty and exclusion magnify the effects of crises, and so to be truly effective and transformative social protection must be linked to efforts to reduce poverty and exclusion and in so doing eliminate the structures that place people in situations of vulnerability in the first place. This report provides a compelling argument for advancing the social protection agenda in Asia and the Pacific along this direction.

The Asia-Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting to the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) 2010 took place at the United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok, from 22 to 24 September 2010. It was organized by the Asia-Pacific Regional Thematic Working Group on International Migration including Human Trafficking, which comprises United Nations and affiliated organizations. Endorsed by all countries present at the Meeting, the Bangkok Statement on Migration and Development stresses that migrant workers are development actors and contribute by way of remittances, skills, culture and labour to states of origin, transit and destination. It highlights the region’s great diversity in levels of development and sizes of countries, resulting in migration taking many forms, as well as the increased complexity in managing migration in the region-many countries being simultaneously sending, transit and receiving countries.

Бангкокское заявление о миграции и развитии Итоговый документ Азиатско-тихоокеанского регионального совещания по подготовке к Глобальному форуму по миграции и развитию, 2010 год

Disability at a Glance 2010: A Profile of 36 Countries and Areas in Asia and the Pacific is a compilation of disability-related data and information. Profiles of 35 countries and one area are grouped according to subregion and presented in alphabetical order. Five are from East and North-East Asia (China; Hong Kong, China; Japan; Mongolia; and the Republic of Korea). Ten are from South-East Asia (Cambodia; Indonesia; Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Malaysia; Myanmar; the Philippines; Singapore; Thailand; Timor-Leste; and Viet Nam). Nine are from South and South-West Asia (Afghanistan; Bangladesh; Bhutan; India; Maldives; Nepal; Pakistan; Sri Lanka; and Turkey). Three are from North and Central Asia (Armenia; Azerbaijan; and Kazakhstan), and nine are from the Pacific (Australia; Cook Islands; Fiji; Kiribati; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Solomon Islands; Tonga; and Vanuatu).

Since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995, there has been progress in some areas towards achieving gender equality in the Asia and Pacific region. Despite the progress made, however, women in the region continue to face discrimination and persistent constraints to achieving gender equality and empowerment. The snapshot of key issues and corresponding indicators presented in this chart highlight both selected challenges and priorities for action by Governments. The latter have been agreed in international meetings including the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing), the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, the Millennium Summit and more recently, in the Bangkok Declaration for Beijing+15 that re-affirmed the Asia-Pacific region’s commitment to the objectives of the Beijing Platform for Action, including intensifying efforts for the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The purpose of this publication is to disseminate the findings of the report on “Older-age parents and the AIDS epidemic in Thailand:Changing impacts in the era of Antiretroviral Therapy” to assist policymakers addressing similar contextual environments to further understand the epidemic and its impact on elderly caregivers. The report represents one of the few research works on the impact of HIV and AIDS on the lives of persons living with HIV/AIDS and their families in the region. It serves to fill the gap in the dearth of research on the implications of the AIDS epidemic on older aged parents, in particular in the context of the increasing availability of antiretroviral therapy.

The Asia-Pacific High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Review Regional Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and Its Regional and Global Outcomes was held in Bangkok from 16 - 18 November 2009 to review implementation of the Platform for Action fifteen years after its adoption. The meeting adopted the Bangkok Declaration on Beijing+15, which reaffirms the commitment of governments in the region to implement the Beijing Platform for Action and to take concerted action to achieve equality for women accross the twelve critical areas of concern identified in the Platform for Action.

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