Already the poorest country in Asia, Afghanistan’s economic base has long been too small to support its population of 40 million. Annual per capita income had declined from US$650 in 2012 to US$508 in 2020 and is expected to drop precipitously to US$350 next year. The report indicates that the …
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the spread of polio is an international public health emergency. Outbreaks in Asia, Africa and Middle East are an "extraordinary event" needing a co-ordinated "international response", the agency says. It recommends citizens of affected countries travelling abroad carry a vaccination certificate. It says …
Aid groups on Sunday rushed to help survivors of a landslide in northern Afghanistan that entombed a village, killing hundreds of people and leaving 700 families homeless in the mountains. Much of Aab Bareek village in Badakhshan province was swallowed on Friday by a fast-moving tide of mud and rock …
Pune : The consensus outlook for the summer monsoon season (June-September), developed in the fifth session of the South Asian Climate Outlook Forum (SASCOF-5), indicates below-normal to normal rainfall over South Asia as a whole. "Below-normal rainfall is likely over broad areas of western, central and south-western parts of the …
South Asia needs up to $2.5 trillion of investment in infrastructure by 2020 if the region is to make further gains in battling poverty and provide for its growing population, the World Bank said on Wednesday. Despite boasting similar economic growth rates to East Asia, the region lags significantly in …
A drought monitoring system is being developed in South Asia, in a collaboration between GWP and the IWMI. A first Assessment Report has been released by GWP South Asia and the GWP-WMO Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP). Over one billion people in South Asia are dependent on agriculture for their …
The World Health Organization has declared its South East Asia region polio-free. The certification is being hailed a "historic milestone" in the global fight to eradicate the deadly virus. It comes after India officially recorded three years without a new case of polio. The announcement means 80% of the world …
According to the World Resources Institute (WRI) many, if not most of the world's rivers are stressed. Determining a systems water stress is based upon measuring the ratio of total water withdrawals to the available renewable supplies within the catchment area. Rivers are an indispensible resource for our communities and …
New Regulation For Visitors To & From Polio-Endemic Nations Pune: India has made oral polio vaccine (OPV) mandatory for all travellers across all age groups visiting polioendemic countries such as Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Syria, Kenya, Somalia, Nigeria and Pakistan. The new regulation, which came into effect from March 1, is aimed …
Per capita vegetable production in Asia and the Pacific has increased some 25 percent over the last decade. Yet, while Asian countries produce more than three-quarters of the worlds vegetables, they and other producers worldwide will need to dramatically increase their vegetable production by 47 percent to meet the nutritional …
New hybrid forms of climate change adaptation combining local and nonlocal/scientific knowledge are emerging across the Asian Highlands region. Yet, while local adaptive capacity can be based on place-based knowledge that governments often lack, communities still need assistance from states to better adjust to climate change and socioeconomic impacts. Using …
In its first global analysis for 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says that Pakistan is the only polio-endemic country which reported more polio cases last year than in 2012. The analysis cited ‘non-uniform routine immunisation coverage’ with several areas having abysmally low routine immunisation coverage as major challenges which …
With the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) expiring in 2015, the world awaits a new, ambitious framework for improving lives. This framework must pass the vital test of reducing inequalities, especially gender-related ones, as a critical step towards the improvement of women's health. Measurably improving women's health throughout the life course …
After Syria, Egypt and Palestine, there is a high likelihood that a poliovirus has also transmitted from Pakistan to a neighbouring province of Afghanistan. A senior official associated with the polio virology at the National Institute of Health (NIH) told Dawn on the condition of anonymity that two cases of …
The United States has committed $15 million in financing towards the Central Asia-South Asia electricity transmission project (CASA-1000) that will bring electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan and Afghanistan. “We believe CASA-1000 can be a potentially transformative project, helping create a regional energy grid that connects Central and South …
The United States has committed $15 million in financing towards the Central Asia-South Asia electricity transmission project (CASA-1000) that on completion would help bring electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan. While announcing the funding the State Department expressed the hope that the US financial support for CASA-1000 would help leverage other …
The health and agriculture ministers assured commitment to strengthen ‘one health’ approach in Bhutan and in the region at the South Asia regional ‘one health’ symposium that ended yesterday in Paro. “Our government assures full support for the ‘one health’ concept, and ensures the sustainability of the work that has …
India has been ranked 94, while Pakistan, improving on its last year's status by 12 places has been scored 127 India has been reportedly ranked lower in corruption than neighbouring Pakistan in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index 2013. The Index scores 177 countries and territories on a scale from 0 …
India is keen to build a 15,000-km gas grid across Asia to connect producers such as Iran, Myanmar, Bangladesh and central Asian nations with big consumers including itself, China and Pakistan, government officials said. The proposal, which revives prospects of India importing gas from Iran and seeks to extend the …
A Service Agreement for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India(TAPI) pipeline was signed in Ashgabat , Turkmenistan ‘s TV Channel reported on Wednesday. According to the report the agreement was signed with the transactional adviser the Asian Development Bank (ADB), as well as the Turkmengas State Concern, Afghan Gas Corporation, Inter State Gas Systems …
The Axom Sarba Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) Mission, along with UNICEF, Assam are jointly hosting the International Learning Exchange on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Schools on November 12 and November 13 at Guwahati. In an interaction with the media in a city based hotel today, it was said that …
