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UN-HABITAT to support water and sanitation in Kenyan Prisons
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3,000 prisoners in Kenya, prison staff and their families will soon have improved access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation facilities, thanks to a cooperation agreement signed between UN-HABITAT and a local NGO, the Prisoners Care Programme. The Prisons Water Project, to be piloted in Homa Bay and Kisii Prisons, will also benefit local communities living around the prisons.

Under the agreement, UN-HABITAT will provide the NGO with USD 167,537 to construct water storage facilities in the prisons and connect them to the municipal water system. The money will also be used to rehabilitate existing sanitation facilities and construct new improved facilities to ensure better hygiene in the prisons. These activities are scheduled to be completed within 9 months.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the head of the Water and Sanitation Programme of UN-HABITAT, Mr. Bert Diphoorn, noted that the project would uplift the living conditions in the prisons by providing clean drinking water, an extremely rare commodity in many Kenyan prisons. “ Caravans of prisoners trooping to nearby springs and other dirty water sources will be a thing of the past”, he said.

Reiterating her NGO’s commitment to implementing the project according to the agreed schedule, the Executive Director of the Prisoners Care Programme, Ms. Jemima Gichungu, thanked UN-HABITAT for supporting the prisons water project, noting that Kenyan prisons are currently characterized by severe overcrowding, with inadequate and rudimentary facilities. “Lack of clean drinking water and inadequate sanitation facilities often result in deaths of inmates due to water-borne diseases”, she said.

The Prisons Water Project is a component of the ongoing Lake Victoria Region Water and Sanitation Initiative, a joint project by UN-HABITAT and the Governments of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. It promotes improved access to water and sanitation, encourages efficiency in water use through demand management, and supports capacity building activities to help towns around the Lake to attain the water and sanitation targets of the Millennium Development Goals. The first phase of the programme has as already provided improved water services to over 114,000 persons and improved sanitation to about 20,000 persons.

November 21, 2008 | 9:51 AM Comments  0 comments
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UN-HABITAT report projects steep growth of African urban population
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11/11/2008
Nairobi



Although worldwide urban growth is expected to slow, a new report by UN-HABITAT is projecting the reverse in Africa with the continent’s urban population being projected to more than double by 2030.

According to the State of African Cities Report of 2008, by last year, Africa’s urban population stood at 373.4 million. However, the figure is expected to rise, the report says. “Projections show that by 2030 there will be 759.4 million African urban dwellers, more than today’s total number of city dwellers in entire Western hemisphere,” it says.

The report which was launched at the just concluded Fourth Session of the World urban Forum held in Nanjing, China adds that the world’s shortest urban population doubling time, less than nine years, is found in the East Africa region, from 50.6 million in 2007 to a projected 106.7 million by 2017.

Among the report’s highlights is that Africa is in a historic period of demographic change. Around 2030, Africa will enter its urban age with 759.4 million people - half of its total population - living in cities. It is projected that by 2050 there will be more than 1.2 billion African city dwellers. That means that by 2050 there will be more people living in African cities than the combined urban and rural populations of the Western hemisphere.

In 2007, Africa was still the least urbanized region in the world with only 38.7 percent of the continent-wide population residing in settlements classified as cities. The African population is geographically very unevenly distributed and there are significant intra-regional urbanization differences within Africa. The East Africa region is the least urbanized of the world, but urbanizing rapidly. The North Africa and Southern Africa regions have the continent’s highest urbanizations figures and their average annual rates of urbanization, as expected, are now declining. They nevertheless continue to be rapidly urbanizing regions.

The urban population growth in Africa is, contrary to common wisdom, not absorbed by its largest cities. In the foreseeable future, the intermediate cities (towns with less than 500,000 inhabitants) will be the localities where two-thirds of all African urban growth is occurring. The implications of this swift urban growth should be clear: African governments should start strengthening the governance capacities of their intermediate and smaller cities so that these fast-growing towns will be prepared for rapid increase in new and additional demand for urban spatial planning, urban housing, urban services and urban livelihoods.

The larger African cities, however, will also continue to grow, albeit that their annual growth rates are now declining. But since these lower growth rates apply to ever-larger urban populations, these cities will, in absolute terms, still see more and more people added. The larger African cities will absorb the remaining one-third of the continent-wide urban growth and, consequently, both the number and average size of African cities larger than 500,000 inhabitants is on the rise. In 1950, Alexandria and Cairo were the only African cities exceeding one million inhabitants. In 2005, there were 43, with an average size of 2.5 million and a combined population of more than 110 million. In 2015, there will be 53, with an average size of 3.1 million and a combined total exceeding 168 million inhabitants.

Africa’s three giant urban agglomerations, Cairo, Kinshasa and Lagos, continue to rise rapidly in their ranking among the world’s largest metropolitan regions. In 2007, the urban agglomeration of Cairo had 11.9 million inhabitants; Lagos had 9.6 million and Kinshasa 7.8 million. In 2015, Cairo will have 13.4 million; Lagos 12.4 million; and Kinshasa 11.3 million inhabitants - 11th, 17th and 19th respectively among the world’s largest metropolitan regions. Projections show that Kinshasa, with 16.7 million inhabitants, will be Africa’s largest urban agglomeration in 2025, Lagos 15.8 million and Cairo 15.5 million, ranking 11th, 12th and 13th among the world’s largest megacities.

November 14, 2008 | 8:21 AM Comments  0 comments
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UN-HABITAT Launches Opportunities Fund for Urban Youth-Led Development
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05/11/2008
Nanjing

UN-HABITAT on Tuesday unveiled a groundbreaking US$2 million fund to finance inspiring youth-led development projects around the world.


The Opportunities Fund for Urban Youth-Led Development, announced at the Fourth Session of the World Urban Forum in Nanjing, China, was created to engage the partnership and leadership of young women and men in achieving sustainable urbanization. The Fund is initially being financed through a US$2,000,000 grant over two years, provided by the Government of Norway. Other governments and donors are being invited to contribute to the fund.

“Youth are the future of our cities, but often are rendered voiceless due to unemployment, lack of education and other issues,” said Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UN-HABITAT. “Through this new fund, we are recognizing the urgent need to bolster youth-led initiatives, and are at the forefront of a growing movement to place youth at the center of sustainable development strategies.”

The exciting event, featuring a series of illuminating speeches from international leaders in the field of youth-led development and performances from prolific young artists from across the globe, drew in a crowd which demonstrated the recognition which youth have achieved at this year’s World Urban Forum. Extra seating was required for scores of youth leaders, civil society representatives, government officials and private sector participants intent on being involved in this unique project. David Woollcombe, director of Peace Child International, underlined the uniqueness of this fund within the UN system, urging other agencies and governments to follow Norway’s example in supporting youth, as he says, “the world’s last remaining ‘superpower’”. Luis Zamorano, Director of Urban Infrastructure, Ministry of Social and Urban Affairs, Mexico agreed, offering to host the second global conference on Safety and Cities. As the Mayor of Dar es Salaam, Mr. Adam Omar Kabisa, stated, “Youth are leaders of yesterday, leaders of today and leaders of tomorrow.” Today marked a turning point in the history of international development: Youth integration must be considered crucial to the success of any future programme.

Young people are poised to play a crucial role in achieving sustainable urbanization in the world’s rapidly expanding cities and towns. According to the United Nations World Youth Report 2007, children and youth under the age of 24 make up nearly 40 percent of the global population. Nearly 18 percent are between the ages of 15 and 24, with 85 percent of these youth living in developing countries. The average age in the 10 least-developed African countries is 16 years or younger. This expanding demographic not only represents an unprecedented opportunity, but also significant challenges. Youth comprise 25 percent of the world’s working-age population, but account for nearly 44 percent of the unemployed. In the Africa region, 27 percent of youth are not in school or working.

“Youth-led development is about young people making a living and future for themselves and their communities,” said Mrs. Tibaijuka. “Any effective response to improve the living conditions of the urban poor and those living in the world’s slums must deal, prima facie, with the challenges facing youth.”