UNESCAP has published a discussion paper entitled “Enhancing Community Resilience to Natural Disasters: Lives of Children and Youth in Aceh”, as part of its project “Building community resilience to natural disasters through partnership: Sharing experience and expertise in the region”. The paper considers issues in the context of building community capacity to care for orphans and separated children and youth in Aceh so as to provide them with optimal opportunities for their development. It also highlights lessons learnt and puts forward policy recommendations.

This tool kit was developed in response to requests by people working to build capacity for community-based treatment of young drug users in the Greater Mekong Subregion. It uses relevant examples from the subregion, accessible web-based resources and templates in order to enhance an understanding of the problems many young people face with regard to substance use and related risks. The tool kit aims to provide ‘how to do it’ guides for assessment of individual, group and family counselling interventions that can be applied in community or residential settings.

e-Health, commonly referred to as the application of information and communication technology (ICT) in the health sector, has rapidly developed around the world in the last few years. This report explores the experiences of countries in the region, both in e-Health initiatives and policy actions. It also looks at the initiatives and polices at the trans-boundary level. The analysis both at national and regional levels sheds some light on the great potentials of e-Health in improvising the delivery of health care in the region, as well as the remaining challenges to fulfill such potentials.

Enjoying good health, remaining free from disease and having access to health care are basic human rights. The inclusion of health targets in the Millennium Development Goals supports the contention that good health is important for overcoming poverty and achieving the wider goal of socio-economic development. While all MDGs are in some way related to health, three refer specifically to health: (a) Goal 4, reduce child mortality; (b) Goal 5, improve maternal health; and (c) Goal 6, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Despite the significant improvements that have been made in income indicators over the last decade – with most countries in Asia and the Pacific having reduced the number of people below the poverty line (Goal 1, target 1) – large segments of the population in the region continue to be without access to basic services, such as health care, education, clean water or sanitation.

Each country in the ESCAP region faces specific challenges in its quest to achieve the health-related MDGs. These challenges can only be met by adopting a comprehensive health systems approach to deliver universal coverage of a minimum package of health services and by addressing the determinants of health that lie beyond the direct purview of the health sector. Given the interconnected nature of the MDGs, it is essential to develop and implement strategies and policies recognizing the significance of the social determinants of health and the multiplicity of sectors affecting health.

This training kit was designed to support the efforts of Governments, civil society institutions and youth work personnel engaged in training young people on health issues. Its purpose is to provide them with material to train young people to be peer educators on twocritical and interrelated health issues that young people face in the ESCAP region, namely, HIV/AIDS and substance use.The primary target for the training kit are facilitators who train peer educators on HIV/AIDS prevention among youth.
 

This guide contains training tools on developing and implementing substance use prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programmes for young people. It is intended for those who are in a position to help address substance use issues among young people as well as in meeting the needs of young people at risk of substance use and young substance users.The publication of this guide responds to the alarming increase in the spread of problematic substance use among young people in the ESCAP region.
 

HIV/AIDS Information Kit: Mobilizing Responses to Fight HIV/AIDS in the Asian and the Pacific Region
 

It is now widely accepted that HIV/AIDS is a threat to social and economic development with serious implications not only for the health and well-being of individuals but also for productivity, economic development, the social fabric of communities and national security. HIV/AIDS therefore requires the full commitment of all sectors: public, private and civil society. What might an expanded response to HIV/AIDS, that extends beyond the health sector and calls for the mobilization of all societal resources to combat the disease, look like?

Community-Level Good Practices in HIV Prevention, Care and Support for Policy Consideration: Two Case Studies from the Community  

The two case studies in this publication serve as examples of how community-level responses to HIV/AIDS could support the development and implementation of government policies, to address the impact of the pandemic. The case studies also underscore partnership with civil society, including non-governmental organizations and faith-based organizations as well as the public sector and the private sector, as central to action and results. Furthermore, the case studies highlight the importance of involving people living with HIV/AIDS as key actors in developing policies and programmes that have an impact on their lives and the lives of their communities.

The Regional Commitment and Action Plan of the East Asia and Pacific Region against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children called for a Mid-term Review (MTR) meeting to review the progress of actions taken and to identify gaps in the implementation of the key areas of action which are prevention, protection, recovery and reintegration, coordination and cooperation, and child and youth participation.

This publication responds to young people’s call for action against substance use. It looks at planning and delivering effective treatment and rehabilitation programmes for adolescent substance users in the Greater Mekong Subregion and beyond. It examines issues such as treatment approaches to youth drug use, successful intervention, current treatment and aftercare programmes, and the implementation of effective preventive programmes. It is intended to serve as a reference source for policy and programme personnel concerned with youth, health and social services in the ESCAP region.

HIV/AIDS in the Asian and Pacific Region: Integrating Economic and Social Concerns, especially HIV/AIDS, in Meeting the Needs of the Region
 

This guide served as background document for the 59th Commission session. The guide not only provides information on the pandemic but it also analyses the costs of inaction as well as the costs of meeting the challenges posed by HIV/AIDS. In addition, it spells out "next steps" governments in the region could take.

This guide has been developed to emphasise the need of governments to take a holistic approach to the pandemic and suggests specific ways in which different ministries can be involved bearing in mind the specific needs and capabilities of the Asia-Pacific region.
 

This guide shares positive ideas to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. It looks at community action focusing on prevention amongst: Youth, populations on the move, men who have sex with men (MSM), sex workers, injecting drug users (IDUs). It also looks at care and support responses by PLWHA themselves, responses on the village level and by faith-based organizations.

Young People - Partners in HIV/AIDS Prevention provides an insight into the interrelated concepts of life skills and peer education. It highlights young people's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS infection and proposes life skills as an approach to enhancing young people's competency in responsible decision-making to minimize high-risk behaviour.

This conflict negotiation training manual is directed at government and nongovernmental organization personnel working with young people. It presents participatory training methods. Users are encouraged to refine and adapt the training techniques and exercises.