Asia-Pacific Population Journal celebrates 20th anniversary

Special 20th anniversary issue released

From “Population and Urbanization” by Rafael M. Salas then Executive Director of UNFPA, the lead article in the very first issue of the Journal, to “Reaching the MDGs: Why Population, Reproductive Health and Gender Matter” by Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, UNFPA’s current Executive Director published in the 20th anniversary special issue, the Asia-Pacific Population Journal has documented knowledge and thinking in the field of population and development in the region for over 20 years.
In print since March 1986, the Asia-Pacific Population Journal, published by ESCAP with financial support from UNFPA, is a highly respected publication in which leading experts share their evidence-based findings, theories and opinions on population and development in Asia and the Pacific. The Journal is disseminated free of charge to an audience of policy makers, programmes planners and researchers in over 75 countries. The web-based version of the Journal, accessible in full text at www.unescap.org/appj.asp recently enjoyed a surge of popularity with about 180,000 visitors a month on average in 2006, representing a fivefold increase since 2005.
The Asia-Pacific Population Journal marks its 20th anniversary this year. Among other events to mark this landmark anniversary, a special commemorative issue has been prepared which focuses on 20 years of progress in the field of population and development. It received contributions from prominent experts in the field, including above-cited Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA and award-winning demographers John C. Caldwell from the Australian National University and Mercedes B. Concepcion from the University of the Philippines.
Numerous thought-provoking and forward-looking articles on a wide range of topics, from family planning to population ageing, breast-feeding and population communication have filled the history of the Journal, contributed by world-class authors as well as by uncelebrated researchers in smaller countries of the region. Various landmark conferences such as the Fourth Asian and Pacific Population Conference held in Bali in 1992, the milestone International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994) and the recent Fifth APPC (Bangkok, 2002) also provided guidance and inspiration over the years.
“The various issues of the Asia-Pacific Population Journal published over the past two decades are a faithful mirror of the evolving trends and issues discussed in the field of population and development in the Asian and Pacific region”, commented Keiko Osaki, Editor and Chief, Population and Social Integration Section, ESID, ESCAP. “The Journal has gone from strength to strength and carved an undisputed niche for itself in the field of population and development”.
The commemorative issue of the Asia-Pacific Population Journal will be launched during a reception on 20 November in Bangkok, on the eve of the Third International Parliamentarians’ Conference on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action to take place at the United Nations.