The Asian Development Bank and the Nossal Institute for Global Health  hosted a virtual meeting titled,Regional Meeting: How to Successfully Operationalize One Health for a Green Recovery in the Greater Mekong Subregion?” on 7 April 2022 to present practical One Health actions in the context of the GMS green recovery agenda, discuss how to incentivize cross-sectoral support, and guide operational planning for future projects. This meeting, which was conducted under TA 9571-REG: Strengthening Regional Health Cooperation in the Greater Mekong Subregion, is a follow up to the previous meeting held on 3 June 2021, One Health in the GMS: Where are We Now and What Next?

A new global pact for nature expected to be passed at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in 2022 should balance the needs of developing and developed countries in helping avoid ecosystem collapse.

The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has opened seven highway ports and one railway port for cross-border cargo with normalized customs clearance processes. Statistics from the GZAR’s Department of Commerce reported that 3,344 vehicles entered and exited through Guangxi’s border highway ports during the May Day holiday in 2022. The May Day holiday is one of the peak travel times in the country.   

The fifth friendship bridge between the Lao People‘s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and Thailand is set to further enhance Lao PDR’s connectivity with its neighbors in the Greater Mekong Subregion. It will link Borikhamxay province (Lao PDR) to Bueng Kan province (Thailand), becoming a vital road link between Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. Spanning over 150km, it promises to be the shortest connecting link between the three countries and opens another regional trade and transit route. 

A proposed Asian Development Bank (ADB) project will help finance two standard ports that will boost the fisheries and tourism sectors of Cambodia’s Kep province.  

A report by the Khmer Times shared provincial officials and ADB are working to establish the ports’ locations, according to Mr. Vao Sokha, Kep Deputy Governor.  

Health ministers of Southeast Asia have agreed to work toward mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination certificates to facilitate travel across the region as countries reopen their borders. This will involve putting in place an ASEAN universal verification mechanism that uses digital technology while ensuring data privacy protection and security.

In the Greater Mekong Subregion, environmental assessment for livestock value chains projects helps avoid, minimize, and mitigate environmental, health, and safety risks.

Transforming Southeast Asia’s established tourism, garments, and agro-processing industries, and leveraging advances in electronics and digital trade, could support the region’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched today.