Stories written by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

Rising Heat, Rising Risk: Regional Policy Actions

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
The year 2024 was the hottest on record globally. In Asia and the Pacific, Bangladesh was the worst-hit country, with about 33 million people affected by lower crop yields that destabilized food systems, along with extensive school closures and many cases of heatstroke and related diseases. Children, the elderly and outdoor low-wage earners in poor and densely populated urban areas suffered the most, as they generally had less access to cooling systems or to water supplies and adequate healthcare. India, too, was badly affected, with around 700 heat-related deaths mostly in informal settlements.

United in Diversity: the Asia-Pacific Region’s Path to Inclusive Social Development

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
The Second World Summit for Social Development, held in Qatar earlier this month, marked an important moment for global efforts to advance inclusive, equitable and sustainable development. Throughout the Summit, contributions from the Asia-Pacific region demonstrated that diversity is not a barrier but a strength in crafting people-centred solutions.

Can the Asia-Pacific Region Deliver Clean, Affordable Energy by 2030?

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
The future of the global energy landscape will be shaped by Asia and the Pacific. Over the past two decades, our region has been the principal driver of global energy demand and emissions. Energy has powered prosperity, lifted millions out of poverty and transformed societies.

Empowering Change & Resilience: Social Protection in the Age of Megatrends

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
Social protection systems are essential to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. However, social protection is insufficient across Asia and the Pacific, and the region is at risk from megatrends: climate change, demographic shifts and digitalization. Tens of millions of people have been pushed into extreme poverty since COVID-19, reversing past gains, and many millions more live precariously just above the poverty line.

A Sustainable Future within Reach: The Promise of Digital Transformation

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana and Zhaslan Madiyev
The development paradigm has shifted to ‘digital by default’ as a norm, reshaping societies and economies. As a hub for digitally driven innovations, Asia and the Pacific is well positioned to leverage the transformative potential of digital technologies to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Why Demography is Key to Unlocking a Sustainable Future for Asia & the Pacific

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana and Natalia Kanem
Asia and the Pacific is an economic powerhouse, fuelled by its vibrant and diverse population. Comprising 60 per cent of the world’s population, this region is bursting with both a wealth of experience and untapped potential.

Crisis Resilient Urban Futures: The Future of Asian and Pacific Cities 2023

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
Cities have always been dynamic hubs of culture, education, economic growth and opportunity, and most importantly, centres of social interaction attracting residents and visitors alike.

It’s Time to Close the Sustainable Energy Gaps in Asia & the Pacific

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
This year we pass the halfway mark both on our journey towards implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and the signing of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Seizing the Moment for a More Resilient Asia & the Pacific

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
The world faces a disaster emergency, yet nowhere is the threat more immediate than in Asia and the Pacific. Ours is a region where climate change-induced disasters are becoming more frequent and intense. Since 1970, two million people have lost their lives to disasters.

Race to Zero in Asia and Pacific: Our Hopes in the Climate Fight

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
The latest synthesis report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change makes for grim reading: Every fraction of a degree of warming comes with escalated threats, from deadly heatwaves to severe hurricanes and droughts, affecting all economies and communities.

Rethinking Public Debt as Positive Investment in Sustainable Development

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
The unprecedented fiscal firepower used to protect the vulnerable from the harsh socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic contraction have pushed the average government debt level in the Asia-Pacific region to its highest since 2008.

Championing Sustainability Despite Adversities in Asia & the Pacific

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
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.

International Women’s Day, 2023
Unleashing Our Region’s Most Untapped Potential: Harnessing the Digital Age to Empower Women & Girls

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
New technologies and innovations are reshaping our world and its future, often at a dizzying pace. Yet women and girls continue to be left behind in this burgeoning digital universe. How, then, can we harness these developments to create a better future for all of us?

Can Asia and the Pacific Get on Track to Net Zero?

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
The recent climate talks in Egypt have left us with a sobering reality: The window for maintaining global warming to 1.5 degrees is closing fast and what is on the table currently is insufficient to avert some of the worst potential effects of climate change. The Nationally Determined Contribution targets of Asian and Pacific countries will result in a 16 per cent increase in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from the 2010 levels.

Persons with Disabilities Integral Players in Determining Innovative Solutions to Fully Inclusive Societies

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
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 Disabilities. This week, we meet again to assess how the governments have delivered on their commitments, to secure those gains and develop the innovative solutions needed to achieve fully inclusive societies.

The Right Policies Can Protect the Workers of Asia and the Pacific

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
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 to remedy these deficiencies and ensure that the rights and aspirations of these workers and their families are upheld and that they remain the engine of economic growth for the region.

Shaping Our Digital Future

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
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, governments and businesses to become “digital by default;” a sea change that generated vast digital dividends. These benefits that have not been distributed equally, however. New development gaps have emerged as digital transformation reinforces a vicious cycle of socioeconomic inequalities, within and across countries.

Reimagining Ageing: Older Persons as Agents of Development

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
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 our parks, lead some of the region’s most successful companies and form an integral part of our families.

Healthy Planet Needs ‘Ocean Action’ from Asian and Pacific Countries

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
As the Second Global Ocean Conference opens today in Lisbon, governments in Asia and the Pacific must seize the opportunity to enhance cooperation and solidarity to address a host of challenges that endanger what is a lifeline for millions of people in the region.

Reclaiming Our Future

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
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) was established in 1947, the region has made extraordinary progress, emerging as a pacesetter of global economic growth that has lifted millions out of poverty.

Tackling the Pandemic of Inequality in Asia and the Pacific

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
After two years of human devastation, the world is learning to live with COVID-19 while trying to balance the protection of public health and livelihoods. For countries in Asia and the Pacific, this is challenging not only because national coffers are heavily strained by record public spending to mitigate pandemic suffering, but also due to deeper structural economic issues.
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