Page 13 - 5th APA Conference Program Book Final

Message from Deputy Regional Director

UNFPA Asia and Pacific Regional Office

Ladies and Gentlemen,Good morning and a very

th
warm welcome to the 5 Asian Population Association
Conference. On behalf of the United Nations

Population Fund for Asia and the Pacific, I would like to

convey a special thank you to the Indonesia Ministry of

Tourism and Creative Economy, to BKKBN, and to

UGM for kindly hosting this virtual conference,

together with APA.

I would also like to express our appreciation to all of you moderators, speakers, and

participants for taking time to be with us today.

With 4.7 billion people, Asia is home to 60% of the world's population. The region

is experiencing extreme diversity and dynamism in population and development.

Some countries have demographically transitioned to low rates of fertility with rapid

ageing. Others are among the world’s youngest countries, yet to enter the

demographic window of opportunity, still struggling to reduce maternal and child

mortality, while facing challenges of reducing unmet need for family planning with

large unplanned family sizes, amidst continuing poverty.

Some of the most intractable population megatrends that have emerged are rapid

ageing, population decline and low fertility, urbanization, migration as well as the

consequences of climate change. This conference provides an incredible opportunity

to explore these topics in depth with like-minded professionals.

The region has experienced some of the fastest sustained economic growth rates,

with rapid development in information and innovative technologies. But, while

significant progress towards poverty reduction was made prior to COVID-19, primarily

through economic growth-centred policies, these gains have been erased by the

13 | P a g e