In light of the spread of Covid-19 cases in India during the second wave, the Government of India (GOI) decided to negotiate for an IPR waiver under section 1 (copyright and related rights), 4 (industrial designs), 5 (patents), and 7 (protection of undisclosed information) of TRIPS Agreement...

The COVID-19 pandemic is considered the most serious health crisis and the greatest challenge to humankind since the Second World War. Although countries in East and North-East Asia (ENEA) were the first to be hit by COVID-19, they have so far been successful in controlling the outbreak with...

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated attempts to contain its spread have created unprecedented hurdles to international trade. This paper reviews trade facilitation measures implemented in North and Central Asia (NCA), including transport and trade finance facilitation. All NCA countries have...

The world and regional economies have been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis. The combined effects of the pandemic and global and national lockdowns have caused havoc in the countries of South and South-West Asia (SSWA), with their trade severely impacted. This paper investigates the subregion's...

Globally, healthcare is a key sector for the overall well-being of a country and its population. By 2030, at least 60 percent of the global population will be living in Asia, and one in four will be over 60 years of age. As the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of the sector, it also...

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted both the strengths and weaknesses of national, regional, and global vaccine research and development (R&D) systems. Translating public and private R&D efforts into effective vaccines in a timely manner requires not only sufficient financial and scientific...

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the crucial role of vaccines in public health management and economic recovery. Its worldwide impact has raised national security concerns and implications on health policies, particularly on Asia Pacific countries' readiness to cope...

The global health crisis that came to be known as the COVID-19 pandemic and started to sweep across the world in early 2020 revealed many vulnerabilities in the economic, social, and political fabric underpinning what much of the world had come to accept as normal. In ways that we are still...

The economic and health recovery of countries in the Asia-Pacific region from the pandemic is hinged on the rapid and equitable deployment of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines. However, in the initial years of the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, highly unequal distribution of vaccines occurred...