The City We Need Now! Africa Campaign towards Africities 2022

The City We Need Now! Africa Campaign towards Africities 2022

UN-Habitat, United Cities and Local Governments Africa (UCLGA) and the County Government of Kisumu today launch The City We Need Now! Africa Campaign.

The regional campaign is part of The City We Need Now! Campaign initiated by UN-Habitat and the 200 partners of the World Urban Campaign calling for urgent action to accelerate the implementation of the New Urban Agenda towards a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery to achieve the city we need.

After a successful launch in the Middle East on 9 February, African partners have come together to focus on intermediary cities, the theme of the upcoming 9th edition of the Africities Summit, to be held in Kisumu, Kenya, from 17 to 21 May 2022.

UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif launched the campaign reminding that Africa is off-track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

“Urban areas as we know them are increasingly at risk, struggling with deepening inequalities and infrastructure gaps. The pandemic has worsened the plight of slum dwellers in the Continent,” she said.

Adding that Africa is expected to have the world’s fastest growing urban population over the next 30 years, she pointed to the benefits of focusing on intermediary African cities to drive change.

“By putting secondary