This issue of the Statistical Newsletter covers an unusually small number of activities organized by UNESCAP Statistics Division. This is largely due to the SARS outbreak in Asia, and the ensuing travel restrictions for many workshop participants, which prevented several meetings from being held. These workshops have been rescheduled to later dates and will be reported on in the next issue of the newsletter.

Engendering national statistical systems has been a major endeavour for UNESCAP in recent years. The workshop in Cambodia on this topic illustrates this continuous effort. A second workshop touching on this issue was the ADB/UNESCAP Concluding Workshop on Enhancing Social and Gender Statistics.

The 59th Session of the UNESCAP Commission also took on an unusual format due to the travel difficulties at that time. Only part of the Session could be held in April, with a second phase to take place later this year from 1 to 4 September. We report however on the draft work programme for the Statistics Division as endorsed by the Commission during the first phase of the Session.