• ESCAP Statistical Newsletter to cover activities of the Statistics Division and SIAP
• Regional calendar of statistical meetings established
• Meetings and training courses of Statistics Division and SIAP, 2007
• Other forthcoming statistical meetings in the ESCAP region
• Missions undertaken by Staff
• Major projects being implemented by the Statistics Division
• Publications and data releases 2006-2007
• Staff changes in 2007
• Farewell Dear Heidi

The calendar of statistical meetings in Asia and the Pacific is maintained on ESCAP web site http://www.unescap.org/stat/meet/events_Asia_Pacific.asp

PARIS21 is maintaining event calendars for Africa and Asia at http://www.paris21.org/pages/events/all-events/list/

Requests for advisory services should be sent directly to the Executive Secretary of ESCAP, see http://www.unescap.org/stat/advise.asp and http://www.unescap.org/oes/

Improvement of disability statistics and measurement in support of the Biwako millennium framework, 2004-2006 (funding being sought for a follow-up project)

Statistical literacy and capacity building for MDG monitoring at the country level, 2006-2007

PARIS21/ESCAP subregional workshops for developing national statistics systems in Asian countries, 2005-2006 (funding being sought for follow-up projects, including in the Pacific)

PARIS21 through UNDP ( Japan Human Resources Development Fund) (South -South Cooperation)

• The Statistics Division and the rest of ESCAP are partnering with ADB and UNDP in a tripartite project "Supporting the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in the Asian and Pacific region". In 2006, the Statistics Division produced two analytical publications under the project (see the list of publications elsewhere in this Newsletter). A further report on regional MDG progress will be published during the third quarter of 2007, and a major regional report is scheduled for 2008.
• Funding is being sought for the ESCAP Regional Census Programme, with most advanced plans for component 3, Supporting effective use of information technology in population censuses.
• The revision of statistical publications and data dissemination web site are continuing.

For further information, please e-mail to stat.unescap@un.org.

Annual Core Indicators online database

The online database contains time series data for selected indicators covering a wide range of issues in relation to the Secretariat's work: demography, migration, education, health, poverty, gender, employment, economy, government finance, employment, transport, and environment. The database was last updated from global international data sources in November 2006.

The database was used in the preparation of the statistical annex of the 2007 Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific, which tables are available in pdf format

This statistical pocketbook, published annually since 1987, uses a one-country-one-page format and contains selected socio-economic indicators on population; health, education and culture; national accounts and prices; trade; transport and tourism; finance; labour force and production; natural resources and environment; and development.

Published Date: 9 January 2007
Document No.: ST/ESCAP/2427
ISBN: 92 1 120486 0
Price: US$ 14.00

Short-term Indicators for Asia and the Pacific online database

• Quarter 1, March 2007 (Published Date: 24 April 2007)
• Quarter 4, December 2006 (Published Date: 25 January 2007)
• Quarter 3, September 2006 (Published Date: 8 November 2006)
• Quarter 2, June 2006 (Published Date: 15 August 2006)
• Quarter 1, March 2006 (Published Date: April 2006)

The online database contains time series data for 31 of the regional members and associate members of ESCAP and is designed to provide up-to-date monthly (or quarterly) data to assess economic trends for countries or areas in the region. The quarterly updated online database covers the period from January 2003 up to the first quarter of 2007.

Statistical Indicators for Asia and the Pacific: Vol. XXXV, December 2005 (Compendium)

Quarterly since 1971. This quarterly publication provides statistics for the assessment of demographic and economic trends. Data includes population, industry, transport, internal and external trade, prices and financial statistics in selected countries or areas of the ESCAP region, accompanied by charts. Each country's data is presented in a single section or in regional comparative tables where possible, depending availability.

Published Date: March 2006
Document No.: ST/ESCAP/2403
ISBN: 92-1-120467-492-1-120467-4
Price: US$ 20

MDG Report: Progress in Asia and the Pacific 2006

This report is the latest update on the progress towards MDGs in Asia and the Pacific. By zooming in on specific indicators, the report highlights the region's achievements and exposes issues on which much work remains to be done. It provides estimates of populations affected by social and economic poverty in the Asia-Pacific region and compares it to the two other major developing regions, sub-Saharan- Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Asia-Pacific countries continue to make progress towards the MDGs, but on present trends many are likely to miss some vital targets, including those for infant mortality, HIV prevalence and access to water and sanitation in urban areas. Even more worryingly, some countries are at risk of failing to reach even two-thirds of the targets.

Published Date: 3 November 2006
Free, Online

Achieving the MDGs in Asia: A Case for More Aid?

This report attempts to broaden the perspective on MDG performance in Asia by highlighting the work that remains to be done. First, it shows that, despite the progress that many countries in the region are making towards reaching the MDGs, by far the largest number of people affected by the various social and economic dimensions of poverty live in Asia. Second, it demonstrates that given this large number, Asia is benefiting from relative small amounts of development aid.

Published Date: April 2006
Free, Online

Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific, 2004

This Yearbook provides a comprehensive compilation of statistical tables relating to the ESCAP region. It provides each country's data in a single section: population, manpower, national accounts, agriculture, forestry and fishing, industry, energy, transport and communications, external trade, wages, prices, consumption, finance and social statistics; covering 10 years of annual figures. Regional tables offer consolidated data in respect of the world, of the ESCAP region and of the developing countries or areas of ESCAP.

Published Date: 6 Januany 2006
Document No.: ST/ESCAP/2373
ISBN: 92-1-019114-5
Price: US$ 90

Mr Andrés Montes joined the Statistics team at ESCAP. Previously, he worked as a Statistics Specialist at UNDP’s Human Development Report Office in NY. Andrés holds an MSc in Public Policy and Administration from the London School of Economics and a BA in Economics from the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas in Mexico. He is fluent in English, German and Spanish.

Ms. Nixie Mabanag joined the Statistics Division in mid-March 2007 as a Statistics Assistant. She worked for the MDG project of the division on a similar capacity and was previously connected with Philippines' National Statistics Office before joining ESCAP.

Ms Gereltuya Altankhuyag, former official of the Mongolian National Statistical Office, has arrived at SIAP on 27 December, 2006, and started her work as a Lecturer/Statistician.

Mr Arukatti Patabandige Gamini Sarathchandre De Silva, former senior director of the Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka has arrived at SIAP on 4 January, 2007, and started his work as a Lecturer/Statistician.

Ms Heidi Arboleda, the former ESCAP Regional Adviser (1997-2002) and SIAP Lecturer (1990-1997) on National Accounts, passed away in Manila on 4 February 2007. She is fondly remembered by a large circle of friends and colleagues she worked within the region and beyond.

The following eulogy was delivered by Mr Andrew J. Flatt, former Director of the Statistics Division, at Heidi's memorial service, UN Conference Centre, Bangkok, 9 February 2007.

"Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We are gathered here today in memory of Heidi Arboleda, and as the former Director of the Statistics Division at ESCAP, I am honoured to have been asked to say a few words about her.

After graduating from the University of the Philippines, Heidi commenced her life-long association with teaching and training by spending some ten years at the University of the East in Manila. She subsequently worked for the Philippines Government for many years, rising to the posts of Director of Project Monitoring Staff at the National Economic and Development Authority and Assistant Secretary-General of the National Statistical Coordination Board. Along the way she had already developed international interests, studying at the prestigious Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands and obtaining a graduate diploma in Statistics and National Accounting and a master’s degree in Development Studies.

It was with this background that she joined the United Nations in 1990, as a lecturer in national accounts and related topics at the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific. I have no idea how many students she must have taught at the Institute in Tokyo or at country courses and seminars throughout the Asia-Pacific region, but it certainly ran into the hundreds if not thousands. While there was a reasonably strict time limit of five years as a lecturer at SIAP, it was typical of Heidi’s indispensability that she was there for nearly seven. And thereafter, SIAP’s loss was ESCAP’s gain, as we were able to recruit her as Regional Adviser on National Accounts. We rapidly discovered, though, that while she was indeed an internationally recognized expert in the field of national accounting, with some pioneering work to her credit, she was a multi-talented individual who made very significant contributions to our efforts on poverty measurement, unpaid work, and gender in statistics. Despite the onset of the disease which eventually took her life, her work ethic in terms of both quantity and quality remained remarkable, and by the time she retired from ESCAP in September 2002, she had delivered over 50 advisory and training missions to 27 countries. She continued to be in great demand as a consultant and resource person until very recently, and there is no doubt that she has made a lasting contribution to the development of national accounts and statistical infrastructure in the region.

Beyond the institutional impact, however, and without doubt more important, was the inspiration and enthusiasm that Heidi managed to convey everywhere she went. Her engaging personality and her animated lectures and presentations endeared her to her students and fellow statisticians in the Philippines, throughout the Asia-Pacific region, and beyond. At ESCAP she is still fondly remembered by many staff, international and local alike. Her self-effacing nature, her ready smile and sense of humour, not to mention her practical skills in restaurant selection and bargain-hunting, all tended to make her approachable and in some ways belied the consummate professional that she was. Her network of friends and acquaintances is unparalleled and is, perhaps, her real legacy. I cannot recall visiting any country in this region without somebody enquiring about Heidi. And if she had enemies, I never met any.

Although this is an occasion inevitably tinged with sadness, I believe that Heidi would not have wished us to dwell on that aspect. Rather, she would have wanted us to remember, even to celebrate, a life lived to the full. May she rest in peace."