Asia-Pacific Countries Endorsed Regional MDG Road Map

23 May 2007: Almaty

Asia-Pacific countries endorsed a regional road map aimed at helping poor countries falling behind to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

The endorsement came as the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) concluded its annual high level meeting today in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The Commission also called on the region, which has the lowest level of government spending in health worldwide, to take steps towards universal health coverage.

Member governments also adopted the Almaty Declaration on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of UNESCAP. The Declaration “marks a milestone in reaffirming the central role of ESCAP in fostering regional and sub-regional cooperation”, said Mr. Kim Hak-Su, Under-Secretary-General of United Nations and Executive Secretary of UNESCAP.

In proposing the MDG road map, UNESCAP says that “not all developing countries are making adequate progress towards achieving the goals; and none are presently on track to meet all the goals by 2015”.

The road map aims to help countries get on-track by providing assistance in five areas: knowledge and capacity building; expertise; resources; advocacy; and regional cooperation in delivering public goods such as trans-boundary infrastructure and energy security.

It also calls for the existing regional partnership between UNESCAP, UN Development Programme and the Asian Development Bank on MDGs to be expanded to include other UN agencies, multilateral funding institutions, sub-regional organizations and the corporate sector.

Another resolution adopted today called on Asia-Pacific countries to increase investment in health. The Commission expressed its concerns that “a large number of people lack access to basic health care in the region, and that catastrophic health-care expenditures can impoverish individuals and increase the number of poor and vulnerable people in the region."

The resolution called on UNESCAP to assist member governments to take steps towards universal health services which would be accessible to all.

Among the 10 resolutions adopted, three focused on least developed and landlocked developing countries in terms of energy, international migration, and transit transport cooperation. Energy security and international migration were the focus of UNESCAP’s Special Body on Least Developed and Landlocked Developing Countries, which met 15 – 16 May in Almaty ahead of the Commission session.

Parallel to the Commission session, the 4th Asia-Pacific Business Forum took place 18-19 May. The event brought together about 250 participants from government, the business community, civil society, international organizations and academia from across the region to discuss how Central Asia could fulfill its potential and became competitive in the global market.

“I believe that the Forum contributed to a much better understanding of what Central Asia can offer to the rest of the region and vice versa”, Mr. Kim said.

The Forum also focused on SPECA – the joint special programme of UNESCAP and UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on the economies of Central Asia. In a related event, the heads of UNESCAP, UNECE and Secretariat of the Integration Committee of the Eurasian Economic Community signed a memorandum of understanding today on working together to promote cooperation in the region.

More than 300 delegates from about 50 governments attended the six-day session -- the first time the Commission met in Central Asia.

Link: UNESCAP