The Asia-Pacific region is expected to achieve 7-per-cent growth in 2010, the United Nations said in its annual economic survey released Thursday, adding that governments need to find new sources of growth other than "trade as usual" with developed countries, according to dpa. "There has been an upswing across our region, and the outlook for 2010 suggests a healthy recovery with an expected growth of 7 per cent," said Noeleen Heyzer, executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific (ESCAP). Speaking at the launch of ESCAP's report titled Survey of the Asia Pacific 2010, Heyzer predicted the region's recovery this year would be led by China, with estimated growth of 9.5 per cent, and India, estimated to grow 8.3 per cent. South-East Asia's export-oriented economies are likewise expected to see recoveries this year, with 7-per-cent growth for Singapore, 5.5 per cent for Indonesia, 5 per cent for Malaysia, 4 per cent for Thailand and 3.5 per cent for the Philippines, according to the ESCAP survey. The report warned, however, that the region's traditional export-led growth was threatened by the deep and ongoing crises in the United States and Europe. "The long-term challenge for the region is in locating new sources of growth because 'trade as usual' is not an option, given the level of debt in the developed countries," Heyzer said. The annual report recommended that the region invest in long-neglected areas such as social protection programmes, green industries, agriculture and rural infrastructure to raise incomes. "With nearly 1 billion people in poverty and wide gaps in infrastructure and lifestyles, opportunities could be developed to augment aggregate demand through private consumption and investment," the survey said. While enjoying high rates of economic growth, the region ranks poorly in terms of social protection coverage for its people. ESCAP estimated that only 20 per cent of the region's unemployed has access to employment programmes, only 30 per cent of its elderly receive pensions and only 20 per cent of the population have access to health-care assistance. The health-care situation in South Asian countries is particularly poor, as "only 8 per cent of the population is covered by health-care programmes," the report said. There have been examples of good programmes in the region, such as Thailand's free health-care system and India's guaranteed 100-day employment schemes. ESCAP urged the region to strive for "a minimum floor for social security benefits for all citizens."
