Rajesh Vasudevan, senior economist at the Asian Development Bank describes the four-step approach adopted by his team to (i) assess in real-time anticipated socioeconomic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Kyrgyz Republic, a small landlocked country in Central Asia, and (ii) build an evidence-base to inform the crisis-response measures of the Government and to ensure equitable allocation of COVID-19 response funds that it had started to mobilize from different sources of financing including development partners, starting with the ADB.

Addressing the solid waste management crisis for cities in developing Asia requires a careful analysis of the situation with a holistic and fit-for-the-context responses. These should include feasible options for the resources available and the scale required, institutional capacity building, and behavior change to minimize waste. The best strategy always starts with less waste generated. In this episode, Luca Di Mario, urban development specialist for South Asia Urban Development at ADB shares his team’s experience in the Greater Male area, where ADB is supporting two projects to establish a sustainable and integrated system for solid waste management.