High inflation to threaten Asia-Pacific economic recovery: ESCAP

“With close to a billion people living in poverty and wide development and
MDG (Millennium Development Goal) gaps, the region has substantial
potential for generating new aggregate demand to sustain its growth,” Dr.
Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) told delegates to the
ESCAP Committee on Macroeconomic Policy, Poverty Reduction and Inclusive
Development.

Combined with the deteriorating global economic environment, high inflation is making
it difficult for the region to meet international development goals and the
time has come for developing Asia-Pacific countries to see poverty
reduction and inclusive development as growth drivers rather than just
social welfare programmes.

The Second Session of the biennial ESCAP forum held duringDecember 7-9
has brought together central bankers, policy advisors and development
experts from 29 Asia-Pacific countries to discuss a policy agenda to
promote sustainable and inclusive development in the region which is home
to the majority of the world’s most deprived individuals.

Although the Asia-Pacific region as a whole has already met the MDG
relating to halving the incidence of extreme poverty, the performance
across the region remains uneven, particularly in least developed countries
and other countries with special needs, Heyzer pointed out.

Asia and the Pacific is still home to 870 million people living below $1.25
a day, accounting for almost 70 per cent of the world’s disadvantaged
population. According to latest ESCAP estimates, poverty levels are highest
in South and South-West Asia (36.1 per cent), followed by South-East Asia
(21.2 per cent), East and North-East Asia (13.0 per cent), and North and
Central Asia (8.3 per cent).

However, much could still be done despite the difficult economic
environment. “For instance, all the off-track countries in the region could
meet the target of reducing by half those suffering from hunger, if they
can reduce the prevalence of underweight children by 2 per cent each year,”
the ESCAP Executive Secretary said. “Most of the 20 countries currently
off-track in providing safe drinking water can reach that target if they
can increase their access rates by less than 2 per cent annually.”

The global economic crisis is an opportunity for the Asia-Pacific region to
readjust its growth, Heyzer pointed out. “The Asia-Pacific region has
to rebalance itself in favour of greater domestic and regional demand to
sustain its dynamism. With close to a billion people living in poverty and
wide development and MDG gaps, the region has substantial potential for
generating new aggregate demand to sustain its growth.”

Addressing the Committee, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce of
Thailand, Kittiratt Na-Ranong highlighted the central place of
sustainable growth and inclusive development in Thailand’s national
development agenda.

“Of all the eight MDGs set against the 2015 timeframe, I am proud to report
that Thailand has achieved every goal except only one concerning maternal
mortality. Our achievements result from people-centered policies,
sustainable development agendas, eradication of extreme poverty, good
governance, and close international cooperation,” Kittiratt said.

ESCAP will tomorrow launch its’ Year-end Update of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2011: Steering Asia-Pacific development through global turbulence.