Outdoor or ambient air pollution is a critical environmental problem causing millions of premature deaths in Asia. At the same time, indoor air pollution is a major challenge also causing millions of premature deaths. The nature of indoor air pollution varies from one region or one country to another depending on the climatic conditions, type of housing, socio-cultural background and others.

ADB's Office of Anticorruption and Integrity and Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department gathered 400 representatives from the US Embassy, USAID, Basel Institute on Governance, Philippine Commission on Audit, and ADB in a webinar on risk mitigation in emergency assistance.

Under a One ADB approach, the Water and Health Sector Groups (led by the Water and Health Advisory Team), and the Procurement, Portfolio and Financial Management Department (PPFD) convened experts from the health, wastewater, and water supply industries and discussed the implications of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on the wastewater and water supply systems and the potential of wastewater-based epidemiology. 

The third Policy Actions for COVID-19 Economic Recovery (PACER) Dialogue on “Tourism: Respond, Restart and Recover” featured global good practice examples of effective tourism crisis recovery policies. Over 130 participants including 64 government officials from Southeast Asia and the People’s Republic of China participated in the Dialogue, sharing knowledge and country experiences and lessons on Travel and Tourism policies and measures taken to mitigate the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerate recovery.

The third PACER Dialogue aimed to:

The Policy Actions for COVID-19 Economic Recovery (PACER) Dialogues is exploring measures that can help economies “bounce back” from the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerate economic recovery. The series of Dialogues will address a range of issues, including: good practices in national planning for “bouncing back” from COVID-19; employing big data and digital technology to enhance pandemic responses; policies to strengthen the role of the private sector in COVID-19 recovery; anticipating future health trends to enhance economic responses; and developing effective social protection measures.

Learn about the digital technology solutions applied in India to handle the spread of COVID-19. Panelists also shared their experiences in contact tracing and monitoring and the success in various states in India.

ADB's Digital Technology Unit and India Resident Mission organized this webinar. 

Cities have contributed greatly to people's health and well-being. As rapid urbanization, aging, and the COVID-19 crisis continue in ADB's developing member countries (DMCs), officials need evidence-based approaches to improve the quality of life in cities. In this online seminar, a team from ADB described a few tools for integrating these initiatives in urban planning efforts which are applicable for the People's Republic of China and other DMCs.

In this webinar, Intelsat demonstrated how telecommunications companies can further reach isolated communities. It also discussed its programs that have created social economies, provided e-health, e-education and promoted digital inclusion for those in remote areas.