Op-eds and Opinion

Regional Co-op Key to Central Asian Integration

Central Asia is at a turning point, and its leaders agree that regional co-operation and integration are critical to prosperity. Its governments are making progress towards establishing a policy environment that will encourage investment and enable private sector growth. Its economies are exhibiting new levels of strength.

It is therefore time for the region to agree on and take the next steps towards integration. It is in the interest of the international community to help move the agenda forward.

HIV Prevention in Asia

In a region that is home to two-thirds of the world's population, the HIV prevalence rate of 0.4 percent -- significantly lower than Sub-Sahara Africa -- translates into more than 8 million adults and children living with HIV. More than one million people were newly infected with HIV in South and Southeast Asia in 2005.

The good news is that infection rates need not continue to rise.

The Asia-Pacific's low prevalence means that governments in the region still have a unique opportunity to stop the epidemic before it is too late.

Asia United: How Far Should We Go with Regional Integration?

All eyes will be on the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur this month as our leaders tackle the big question of greater regional integration. We explore the problems they will encounter in trying to unite such a diverse region.

In southern Cambodia, where a rough road through a turbulent countryside once connected the country to Vietnam, a transformation is taking place. A smooth new highway now links the two neighbours, and businesses are springing up along the roadside.

Is Water a Human Right?

Consider these stark facts: Over one billion Asians lack access to safe drinking water. Half of the 3.5 billion people living in the region are without adequate sanitation. Pollution levels in Asia's rivers are among the highest in the world, while forest cover is among the lowest.

Between 1950 and 1995, the amount of water available to each person in Asia dropped by more than half. That figure could halve again by 2025. Simply put, people in the world's most populous region are running out of water fast.

Mekong a Difference

The Greater Mekong Sub-region is Asia's new economic frontier. Opportunities to shape its future are attracting the best resources and talents. India's business community should not miss this opportunity

The rapid growth of the Indian economy creates new opportunities for development in many areas. As India and its business community assess these opportunities, the experience of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) warrants close inspection.

Chance to Avert Tragedy of Bird Flu Pandemic

With the winter flu season approaching and the world possibly on the verge of a bird influenza pandemic, the ensuing tragedy would be one counted not only in health and human lives, but also in economics.

So far, it is the poor, especially those in rural areas, who have borne the brunt of the epidemic. Some 60 people have died in four Asian countries since the current outbreak began in December 2003. The economic fallout, although already significant, has also been largely confined to rural areas. This is, however, no longer a rural or specifically Asian problem.

Asia Must Find Ways to Prioritise Job Growth

Asia's rapid growth has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. But almost 1.9bn Asians, more than four times the population of the European Union, still survive on less than $2 a day. If this number is to fall, Asian economies must create more jobs.

At least 500m Asians out of a total labour force of about 1.7bn are unemployed or underemployed. And some 245m new workers will enter the region's labour markets over the next 10 years. The outlines of an employment crisis are already taking shape.

A Future within Reach?

Twenty-two-year old Rina was 13 when she was forced into marriage. She had her first baby while she was still a child herself. Deprived of proper care and with a body too weak and undeveloped to deal with pregnancy and childbirth, she lost control of her bowel and bladder movement, and is incontinent for life.

There are millions of women like Rina across Asia Pacific whose stories tell us what it means to be poor, and to be a woman with limited or no access to basic services.

Mekong Area Faces Environmental Challenges

The six countries that share the Mekong River are experiencing a remarkable transformation. The area has seen its economy grow by more than 6 per cent a year since 1992.

To support this growth, the governments in the region, backed by international development agencies, are implementing about US$3.4 billion worth of infrastructure projects. Some 40 other projects - totalling an estimated US$10-15 billion - are in the works. These development initiatives cover telecommunications, energy, cross-border trade, tourism and various other sectors.

Can India Live Up to Its Potential?

India is a paradox. The success of a group of sectors, from information technology to industry and services, is creating an urban elite showcased as the builders of a modern and vibrant country on the cusp of joining the world's major economic powers.

But just outside their corporate campuses and air-conditioned shopping malls, 840 million Indians continue to survive on less than US$2 (S$3.30) a day.