Asia and the Pacific’s unparalleled economic performance overall in the past decade has resulted in dramatically decreased levels in poverty. Already, the region has reached the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving poverty by 2015. Eight countries of the region have moved from low-income to middle-income between 2000 and 2011. Looking back over the last five years, to when UNDP embarked on its Strategic Plan 2008-2012, it is clear that the region has continued to progress on human development (Figure 2A and B). In fact, in the last decade the annual growth in human development has been higher for Asia-Pacific than any other region worldwide, according to the Human Development Report 2013.

Similarly, as a sign of the region’s growing maturity and resilience on the economic front, Asia-Pacific weathered the impact of the financial and economic crises of 2007-2008 relatively well.

Related Projects and Initiatives:

• Increasing Access to Justice for Marginalized People (2008-2017)
  In partnership with the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, the project focuses on strengthening access to justice for the poor, particularly women, scheduled castes, tribal communities and minorities, through developing strategies and initiatives that address the barriers they face accessing justice in legal, social, economic and political domains.

• Support to National Response to Mainstreaming HIV (2008-2012)
  In partnership with the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), the project aims to expand coverage and impact of the national HIV response by mainstreaming HIV in selected ministries; to enhance capacities of civil society groups to protect human rights of PLHIVs and of government officials to effectively manage National AIDS Control Programme (NACP-III).

• Support to Operationalization of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (2008-2012)
  In partnership with the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, the project aims to address some of the challenges in implementing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the world’s largest employment guarantee scheme.

• The International Centre for Human Development (2012-2015)
  In partnership with the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, the project aims to set up an International Centre for Human Development in India to support efforts by governments of the South to integrate human development approaches and ensure improved development outcomes for poor and marginalized people.