Despite progress, the growth of public access to services such as health care, schooling, and clean water, has lagged behind the pace of economic growth in much of developing Asia.

Research shows Asia and the Pacific is more vulnerable to natural hazards than other parts of the world. The growing frequency of disasters, such as devastating floods or earthquakes, could derail the region's economic growth and poverty reduction efforts unless measures are put in place to reduce disaster risk and improve preparedness.

The public sector alone, even with financing from multilateral development banks, cannot meet the growing demand for infrastructure investment in Asia and the Pacific. Public–private partnerships (PPPs) are a way of mobilizing not just financial but also managerial and technical resources of the private sector to provide efficient and modernized public services.

Waste management and sanitation remains a problem in developing Asia, where millions still suffer from the fact that most towns and cities use open dumps and only about 10% of solid waste ends up in properly engineered and managed landfill sites. Here's a by the numbers look at how wastewater management measures up in Asia and the Pacific.