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As we reach the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it is an opportune moment to reflect on the Asia-Pacific region’s progress and accelerate efforts to achieve our goals.

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Rapid development in Asia and the Pacific has propelled the region to become a key engine of growth for the global economy, yet this prosperity has not reached everyone. And with the region not on…

Photo credit: ESCAP/East and North-East Asia Office Op-ed

Cities are key players in combatting climate change and its effects. They are responsible for 70 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and consume 80 per cent of global energy. Thus, without…

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Ten years ago, the Asia-Pacific region came together and designed the world’s first set of disability-specific development goals: the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with…

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The emergence of middle-income developing countries willing to share their knowledge, expertise and resources through their own assistance programs offers new opportunities for partnerships and…

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Most of the 2.1 billion strong workforce in Asia and the Pacific are denied access to decent jobs, health care and social protection but there is an array polices and tools that governments can use…

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Asia and the Pacific is the most digitally divided region of the world, and South-East Asia is the most divided subregion. The Covid-19 pandemic detonated a “digital big bang” that spurred people,…

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The start of the “Decade of Action” to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has also marked the start of an unprecedented period of overlapping crises.

The Covid-19…

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Older persons are highly visible across Asia and the Pacific: they work in agricultural fields producing our food supplies, peddle their wares as street vendors, drive tuk-tuks and buses, exercise in…

Photo credit: Lim Yong Tick / EyeEm Op-ed

The Asia-Pacific region is at a crossroads today – to further breakdown or breakthrough to a greener, better, safer future.

Since the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP…