United Nations Radio

UN Calling Asia - a weekly 14-minute magazine programme, in English, that keeps you in touch with UN developments covering Asia and the Pacific.

A forum on empowering women held at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) this week concluded that anti-discriminatory laws do not automatically bring about progress for women. Their implementation is frequently obstructed by entrenched structures, values and power relations shaping local policies, communities and cultural beliefs and women's daily lives. This is the level where empowerment must occur, the experts say, if progress for women is to be achieved.

Improving the air quality in Beijing for the Olympics

With the start of the Summer Olympics this week, concerns remain about Beijing's air pollution and traffic congestion. Is Beijing ready for a truly "green" Olympics? UN Radio's Hao Cheng went to Beijing and found that a strong partnership exists between the Olympic official organizer and the United Nation's Environment Program. The project focuses on public transportation as one way to reduce pollution.

World Bank helps Kyrgyz mothers affected by food crisis

The rise in food prices this year has increased the number of people at risk of malnutrition in many countries around the world. To combat the food crisis, the World Bank is giving out 1.2 billion dollars in grants and loans, including 200 million for those most at risk in the world's poorest countries. In the Kyrgyz Republic some of this money is going toward supplementing an existing programme to treat anaemia and vitamin deficiencies in expectant mothers.

Producer: Bissera Kostova

Duration: 14 minutes