Today is World Habitat Day. A day, designated by the UN, to reflect on the state of our habitats and the basic right of all to adequate shelter.
This year’s theme is ‘Mind the Gap. Leave No One and Place Behind’. It looks at growing inequality and challenges in cities that are being exacerbated by the triple threat of COVID, climate and conflict.
As we mark World Habitat Day at ECA, we do so by recognizing Africa’s rapid urban transition that is transforming the continent’s development trajectory as well as the drivers and barriers to its prosperity.
Africa has the world’s highest urban growth rate of 3.4 per cent between 2020 and 2025. In the next 13 years by 2030, more than half of the people in Africa (or about 1.1 billion) will be living in urban areas. Africa’s urbanization – if planned and managed well – can be accompanied by enormous opportunities to boost growth and diversify economies. Equally, this needs to be backed by adequate investments to optimize the economic performance of African cities.
This is precisely why cities and local governments should be central to recovery from crises and must be integrated into strategies to build a resilient future for Africa.
ECA has been generating new evidence and knowledge on the potential of African cities to drive prosperity. We have been working with member States in the design of strategies to harness the full benefits of urbanization for national development targets. Our work particularly focuses on the role of cities in accelerating industrialization, regional trade integration and economic growth (GDP).
On this day, I invite you to read about our urbanization and development work here.
Once again, Happy World Habitat Day!
Kind regards,
Edlam Abera Yemeru
Director a.i.
Gender, Poverty and Social Policy Division