Expert Opinions & Stories

The rapid growth of digitalization has fundamentally altered commerce, impacting production and facilitating the movement of goods. The 2023 Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report (APTIR), has…

Despite efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 on Climate Action has seen an overall regression in progress in Asia and the Pacific. A 2023 ESCAP…

The demand for adopting more inclusive value chains in the private sector is apparent on all fronts. Customers are more mindful of their purchases, with extensive access to product information…

Over four billion people will take to the polls in 2024 as 76 countries are set to hold elections.    In Asia, this includes populous countries such as Bangladesh, India, Indonesia,…

In the heart of India's agricultural landscape, smallholder farmers, comprising 70 per cent of the sector, face a significant barrier: limited access to formal financial institutions and resources…

Gulmira Kuzhagaliyeva, a former senior expert at Qaz-Trade, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Trade and Integration, has been exploring sustainable methods of food packaging and storage in her work  ̶…

When Lisa Huyen first set up her company, Vinasamex, which specializes in certified organic cinnamon and star anise grown in the mountainous and poorer provinces of Viet Nam, she faced daunting…

It is undeniable that the world is rapidly approaching a climate change catastrophe. According to the  Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change …

Each year, the births of 64 million children under the age of five and deaths of 8.4 million people are invisible to governments in Asia and the Pacific. Most countries in the region are yet to…

“How many people have died from COVID-19?” - this seemingly straightforward question cannot be answered in many countries due to the absence of a complete and well-functioning civil registration…

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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Every year, millions of people in Asia and the Pacific die without their deaths being registered. The under-registration of deaths has serious consequences for individuals, families, communities and…

As countries in Asia and the Pacific build back from the COVID-19 pandemic, they have a unique opportunity to empower women and advance gender equality by putting women at the heart of the recovery…

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,…

As digital technology continues to unlock new financial opportunities for people across Asia and the Pacific, it is critical that women are central to strategies aimed at harnessing the digital…

Five years after the entry into force of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), many countries have made progress in implementing the agreement, much technical assistance has been provided, and…

At ESCAP’s latest Regional Conversation, Promoting Regional Cooperation for Enhancing Access to Essential Health Products, Dr. Mariângela Simão of the World Health Organization (WHO) gave a telling…

The world has seen tremendous development and production in vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics in the two years since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. However, gross inequities in accessing…

2022 marks the second anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while an end to the pandemic is in sight, it is far from over and the consequences will be felt for decades to come. At the same time,…

The outcomes of harnessing digital technologies for financial inclusion will pay dividends for people at the bottom of the economic pyramid (BoEP) across the Asia-Pacific region. Innovative policy…