Africa Urban Resilience Program Launched

Addis Ababa, September 4, 2024 (FBC) – The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the African Union Commission (AUC) officially launched the Africa Urban Resilience Program today.

Addis Ababa hosted the First Africa Urban Forum under the auspices of the African Union, which brought together key stakeholders to discuss and shape the future of urbanization across Africa.

Africa Urban Resilience Program aims to enhance the resilience of African cities to climate change, disasters, and conflicts, it was indicated.

Speaking at the launch event, UN-Habitat Executive Director, Anacláudia Rossbach emphasized the urgent need to prioritize urban resilience in Africa.

“We just did not respect the nature. We spoke this morning about the informal settlements. It is important to recognize that they are suffering the major impact of the disasters that are happening in Africa but also in other parts of the world, ” the executive director said.

We have developed tools and provided technical assistance to cities in the region, she said, adding that one specific tool is the state of resilience action planning, which I believe was applied in nearly 50 urban centers in Africa.

UNDP’s Resilience Hub for Africa Director Zeynu Ummer said urbanization in Africa is a complex challenge with far-reaching impacts.

The Africa Urban Resilience Program provides a strategic response to harness the developmental potential of our cities, he noted.

According to him, this initiative is not just timely it is essential in addressing one of the most pressing and complex challenge of our time urbanization in Africa.

The program, according to ENA’s report, recognizes that building equitable and cohesive societies resilient to the shocks of climate disasters and conflicts require more than isolated efforts. It demands collective, coherent and coordinated action at all levels.