Despite the rapid economic growth in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region, poor governance and corruption remain a major challenge to human development by fuelling inequalities and undermining access to public services. We live in a region were inequalities are rising, where the largest number of people living in extreme poverty reside 743 million, and an almost equal number, or 700 million people live without electricity.

To curb corruption fourteen countries in the Asia-Pacific region have so far drafted an anticorruption strategy that is a country’s comprehensive anti-corruption policy document to coordinate national anti-corruption action. The development of anti-corruption strategies has often been driven by the efforts of States Parties to implement preventive measures under the United Nations Convention against Corruption.