Chaotic urbanisation major challenge for developing countries

U.N. data showed that the projected population increase of about 2 billion between 2001 and 2030 will
take place in the urban areas, said Dr Anna Tibaijuka, United Nations Under Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Habitant, the global agency dealing with settlements issues.

The global urban population will increase from 2.9 billion in 2001 and 2030 to about 4.9 billion, most of
it in Asia, Oceania and Sub-Sahara Africa.

"The consequences of this urbanisation poverty are grave and affect us all," Dr Tibaijuka told journalists at a special seminar convened on covering Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Uganda.

"There can never be sustainable development on this planet without sustainable urbanisation. And
sustainable urbanisation starts with adequate housing, secure tenure and access to basic services," she told the group, drawn from more than a dozen countries in Asia, Pacific, Caribbean and Africa regions.

She said most slum dwellers lacked access to clean drinking water and sanitation and that most of them live on less than a dollar per day.

"Slum dwellers suffer from double jeopardy, they live in life-threatening conditions and their plight is the blind spot of government action and international development assistance," Tabaijuka said.

Dr Tibaijuka, a Tanzanian, was among global leaders that addressed the special Nov. 19-23 seminar convened by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Eastern Africa Journalism Programme.

Secretariat Links:

• Commonwealth Media Development Fund
• Millennium Development Goals