The United Nations launched the Zero Hunger Challenge in Asia and the Pacific here today in the presence of top national leaders, calling on governments, farmers, scientists, business, civil society and consumers to join hands to end hunger in the region where the majority of the world’s undernourished people live.

Foreword

It is fitting that the topic of water security, through the launch of this Analytical Brief, figures among the many celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of World Water Day on 22 March 2013 and the 2013 International Year of Water Cooperation. In recent years, the issue of water security has been gaining traction in the global political agenda and earning attention from national governments at the highest level, in particular for its links to peace and national security, but also for its implications for development issues.

UN report finds disasters taking heavy toll on economic development in Asia-Pacific

YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA, 23 October 2012 - A UN Report released today at the opening of the Fifth Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk reduction shows that Asia and the Pacific is paying a huge price for extreme weather events which are now impacting negatively on the continent's economic development.

Date: 22 June 2012
Press Release No: G/35/2012

NEW DELHI – Twenty-one countries agreed to develop a financial mechanism for the sustainability of the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) at the First RIMES Ministerial Conference, held in New Delhi this week.

South-East Asian Nations Call for Greater Investment in Disaster Risk Reduction to Protect Economic Growth Bangkok (UN ESCAP Strategic Communications and Advocacy Section) – The 2011 floods that caused unprecedented devastation across South-East Asia have highlighted the need for stepped up investment in disaster risk reduction to protect social and economic assets, top government officials from the subregion agreed at a United Nations forum here today.

Bangkok (UN ESCAP Strategic Communications and Advocacy Section) – Government leaders, senior officials, civil society representatives and people living with HIV from 34 Asia-Pacific countries began three days of talks at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Headquarters in Bangkok today to find ways to speed up progress towards an AIDS-free region, including by removing legal and policy barriers that hamper access to HIV services.

Bangkok (UN ESCAP Strategic Communications and Advocacy Section) – As Japan continues to recover from the worst earthquake and tsunami in its history, experts and policy makers from Japan and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region gathered in Tokyo to discuss lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.

The meeting, held from 16 to 18 December, was jointly organized by ESCAP and the Cabinet Office of the Government of Japan, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Asian Disaster Reduction Centre and the International Recovery Platform.

Bangkok (UN ESCAP Strategic Communications and Advocacy Section) – Responding to a request from the Government of Thailand, the United Nations, working with international partners, is enabling national disaster management authorities to have more frequent access to satellite imagery capturing flood wave dynamics for improved monitoring of and response to the country’s worst flooding in decades.

Date: 16 September 2011
Press Release No: G/43/2011

Bangkok (UN ESCAP Strategic Communications and Advocacy Section) – The Asia-Pacific region, which is confronted with a number of conflicts, needs to recognize more fully the central role of women in conflict prevention, resolution and peacebuilding processes, a forum, organized here by the United Nations said.