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from goods and services. Lagging, landlocked regions are home to an estimated 50 percent of South Asia’s poor. Increasing connectivity and integrating markets would be the best strategy for growth and equality; such a strategy represents a large opportunity to reduce poverty and inequality. Less than 1 percent of Afghanistan’s and Nepal’s hydropower capacity of over 100 gigawatts is actually used because of lack of regional cooperation, so gains from trade in electricity could benefit both countries and others as well. More regional cooperation has the potential to reduce vulnerability from natural disasters. For example, cross-border cooperation on water between Bangladesh, India, and Nepal offers the only long-term solution to flood control and water shortages in Bangladesh and in the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. n Gender equality. Gender issues in South Asia represent a complex challenge. In most countries, women have experienced improved access to services and credit markets. However, despite the recent economic growth, dramatic gender inequities persist in South Asia and still need to be addressed. Through the self-help groups supported by the Andhra Pradesh Rural Poverty Reduction Project, more than 8 million women and their spouses have life and disability insurance coverage, and more than 800,000 lives are insured against health risks. Significantly, given the importance of livestock to rural families, about 500,000 cattle (primarily cows and buffaloes) have been insured. The Female Secondary School Assistance Program in Bangladesh has provided tuition stipends to girls, aiming to increase their access to secondary education. Since the program’s inception in 1993, overall enrollment of girls in secondary schools in Bangladesh has increased to more than 4 million in 2006 from 1.1 million in 1991.