While the impact of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine on food system disruptions was widely covered, underlying food system vulnerabilities across Asia and the Pacific had been steadily growing long before these crises unfolded.

Selsah Pasali is a social affairs officer at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Selim Raihan is a professor in the Department of Economics, University of Dhaka and Executive Director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM).

In the coming decades, the Asia-Pacific region faces a series of challenges that threaten to exacerbate poverty. Among these, climate change, demographic shifts -- particularly aging populations -- and the rise of digital technologies stand out as three interconnected global megatrends.

By Zilu Zhou, Associate Social Affairs Officer, ESCAP, and Napaphat Satchanawakul, Social Affairs Officer, ESCAP

Universal health coverage (UHC) is off track in Asia and the Pacific. There has been insufficient progress to improve coverage of essential health services, with financial protection against healthcare costs worsening.