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..Press
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UNESCAP News Services
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Date 19
April 2005
Note to Editor: N/19/2005
UNESCAP 2005 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL SURVEY:
Dealing with shocks
Graying of region posing biggest threat
to present and future economy
BANGKOK (United Nations Information Services)
-- UNESCAP’s annual health-check of the region’s
economy and social progress covers present and future possible
shocks and gives Governments remedies for recovery and long-term
strategies.
The oil price spiral, tsunami fallout, the ageing
population and poverty reduction are some of the major subjects
discussed in the 2005 Economic and Social Survey of
Asia and the Pacific: Dealing with shocks to be launched
on Monday, 25 April 2005 in Bangkok by UNESCAP’s Executive
Secretary Mr. Kim Hak-Su at 10.30 a.m.
While growth is not expected to be as spectacular
as 2004, the Survey predicts the region will continue to be
the fastest-growing in the world.
The 2005 Survey notes that economic prospects
for Asia Pacific in 2005 have been undermined by factors such
as persistent high oil prices, a weak US dollar, the effects
of the tsunami and other natural disasters and health problems
such as avian influenza and the spread of HIV/AIDS.
The Survey also highlights social issues such
as the dynamics of population ageing. It presents policy options
for dealing with the challenge of a rapidly aging society, the
“most important feature of demographic transition in the
next half century in Asia and the Pacific”. It warns Governments
to reform policy design, particularly in health and pension
systems.
This year’s Survey emphasizes microfinance
in poverty reduction. The UN’s General Assembly has designated
2005 as the International Year of Microcredit.
"I hope the analysis and policy options outlined
in the Survey will help member countries take bold actions in
two ways: transform the challenge of ageing into an opportunity
to improve living standards; and make old age population more
productive by providing training and a flexible working environment,"
Mr Kim Hak-Su.
The Survey will be launched simultaneously in
17 cities in the region and in UN Headquarters in New York and
Geneva.
NOTE TO EDITORS
You or your representatives are cordially
invited to the Press Conference to launch the Economic and Social
Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2005 at 10:30 am on Monday, 25
April 2005 in Conference Room 4, 1st Floor, United Nations Conference
Centre, Rajadamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok. Refreshment will be
served from 10:00 am before the Press Conference.
For further information please contact:
UN Information Services Bangkok
Tel: +(66-2) 288-1861-69, Fax: +(66-2) 288-1052
E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org
http://www.unescap.org/
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