Over the past 30 years Asia and the Pacific region has stood out to the rest of the world as a model of development. Stunning economic growth accompanied by huge investments in health education significantly contributed to reduced infant child and maternal deaths smaller family size higher living standards and significant improvement in the status of women. However financial and economic crisis which spread throughout Asia beginning in mid-1997 has given a grim warning that financial turbulence can wipe out developmental gains owing to reduced social sector investment. The crisis increased poverty and unemployment decreased educational involvement and budgetary constraints for social programs including those concerning population and reproductive health. At the dawn of the new millennium the challenge for Asia and the Pacific will be to respond to the key issues that came out at the International Conference on Population and Development review and to maintain the momentum of progress which it accomplished in the past 3 decades. Priority should be given on areas of reproductive health reduction of maternal mortality reproductive health needs of adolescents reducing abortion addressing the health consequences of unsafe abortion prevention of HIV/AIDS gender issues and education.