Asia Pacific

A healthy mother with her newborn in India

UN-led campaign to provide affordable health care for Indian women

8 April 2010
Tens of thousands of Indian women and their families will have access to quality maternal and child health-care services thanks to a partnership announced today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and a chain of small hospitals in India for low-income clients.
Ján Kubiš, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

Ban dispatches special envoy to Kyrgyzstan after violent uprising

8 April 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today dispatched a special envoy to Kyrgyzstan, which has been rocked by bloody unrest after demonstrations against the high cost of energy appear to have turned into an uprising against the Government.
Voting in the 20 August, 2009 elections in Afghanistan (file photo)

Recent rhetoric unhelpful for Afghanistan’s relations with its partners – Ban

8 April 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he continues to expect full cooperation between Afghanistan and its global partners, adding that recent comments critical of the international community by the country’s President Hamid Karzai are unhelpful.
Outside the Universidade Nacional Timor-Loro Sa’e

Timor-Leste’s economy at ‘turning point,’ says top UN envoy

7 April 2010
Timor-Leste’s economy is on the cusp of moving from recovery to development, the top United Nations envoy to the fledgling nation said today, stressing the need for an economic expansion that is not based only on oil revenues.

Voicing shock at violence in Kyrgyzstan, Ban repeats call for restraint

7 April 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he was shocked by the reported deaths and injuries in Kyrgyzstan, where demonstrators in the country’s capital have clashed with the police, and once again appealed to all concerned parties to show restraint.
Maryam Jurakulova of Tajikistan with a fruit tree seedling she received from WFP

UN agency takes aim at two birds with one stone – poverty and global warming

7 April 2010
In a novel track in the battle against global warming, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has given 800 poor families in Tajikistan thousands of seedlings to plant not only to provide fruit, but to offset the carbon footprint of vehicles used in the agency’s food aid work.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (R) with President Kurmanbek Bakiev on his recent visit to the Kyrgyz Republic

Ban urges restraint after protesters seize Government building in Kyrgyzstan

6 April 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed concern over reports that demonstrators in Kyrgyzstan had seized a Government building and urged them to show restraint and respect the rule of law.
A hydroelectric power plant in Tajikistan.
Russian Presidential Press and Information Office

Ban outlines UN role in resolving Central Asian tensions over water resources

6 April 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today outlined “a key role” for the United Nations for resolving tensions in Central Asia over the use of water, energy and other natural resources where exploitation by one country can affect the development of another.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses students at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Uzbekistan

UN chief calls on Uzbekistan to deliver on human rights pledges

5 April 2010
Respect for human rights is key to ensuring a modern and prosperous Uzbekistan, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, urging the Government to fully implement the numerous global agreements it has committed itself to.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on visit to the Aral Sea

Shrinking Aral Sea underscores need for urgent action on environment – Ban

4 April 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday witnessed one of the world's worst environmental disasters as he flew over the shrinking Aral Sea – a sight which he said underscores the need for collective action to save the planet's resources.