26 January 2015: The UN Development Programme (UNDP) released a report on its development results in 36 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region. It stresses the need for continued progress in reducing poverty, conserving natural resources, strengthening democratic governance and building resilience, in order to reduce inequality and eliminate poverty in the region.

‘Achieving Development Results in Asia and the Pacific, 2013-2014′ highlights progress towards inclusive, effective and responsive governance, which was identified as a key priority for the region by the MY World survey on people’s priorities for the post-2015 development agenda. UNDP aimed to promote citizens’ voices, stronger accountability in governance systems, access to basic service and gender equality and women’s participation in governance systems. It reports progress ranging from innovations that allow constituents to virtually interact with parliamentarians in Bhutan to the use of mobile phones and websites to report service delivery problems in the Maldives through the “Make My Island” initiative.

The report also highlights UNDP achievements on, inter alia: improving early warning systems to build resilience to natural disasters; disposing of persistent organic pollutants (POPs); and increasing access to social protection in the region. It shows the region’s achievements on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and describes the implementation of MDG Acceleration Frameworks in nine countries.

UNDP, in partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), led more than 16 national and sub-national consultations on priorities for the post-2015 development agenda, according to the report, which compares Asia, Oceania and global results on priorities. While “good education” was the top priority for all three, the second and third priorities differed between Oceania and Asia, with Oceania prioritizing access to clean water and sanitation and protecting forests, rivers and oceans, and Asia prioritizing better healthcare and protection against crime and violence.

The report concludes by identifying four development challenges specific to the Asia-Pacific region, on which UNDP will work: achieving inclusive growth and addressing uneven development across and within countries and social groups; achieving inclusive and effective governance and improved governance quality; supporting countries in achieving gender equality; and promoting sustainable, resilient development to address vulnerability to conflict and natural disasters as a result of climate change and inequality. [UNDP Press Release] [UN Press Release] [Publication: Achieving Development Results in Asia and the Pacific, 2013-2014]