Urban Poverty Must Be Addressed

This is according to the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Consultative Group on Human Settlements (CCGHS).

At the biennial World Urban Forum in Vancouver, Canada, on 19 June 2006, CCGHS Chairperson Reginald Farley said: "Urban poverty is often underestimated, unrecognised and poorly understood. In many nations, official poverty lines define significantly fewer urban dwellers as being poor than would be suggested by an examination of nutritional levels or health outcomes in urban areas. Statistics on MDG indicators that contrast figures for rural and urban areas mask the deprivation in urban slums where rates of water and sanitation coverage and education enrolment can be much lower, and child mortality much higher than richer urban neighbourhoods."

Mr Farley, who is also the Barbados Minister of Housing and Lands, said Commonwealth research has shown that there is a general lack of focus on, and understanding of, urban poverty issues in member countries. This prevents governments and donors from addressing poverty and building an infrastructure for long-term economic growth and sustainable development.

He noted that more than 300 million people live in slums in the Commonwealth, making up almost one in six Commonwealth citizens. In a quarter of Commonwealth countries, more than two out of three urban dwellers live in slums. He also noted that small island and vulnerable states in the Commonwealth face particular sustainable development challenges in the face of rapid urbanisation.

Mr Farley said Commonwealth environment ministers have called for greater focus on human settlement concerns in national development plans. This includes adequate shelter for all, with secure tenure and access to essential services, good governance and sustainable urbanisation. He added that timely data collection to support policy development to address urban poverty and monitoring of progress in this area is essential.

The CCGHS delegates who met on the eve of the Forum comprised 55 ministers responsible for human settlements and their permanent secretaries. On the eve of the forum, there was a meeting of ComHabitat, which consists of the CCGHS and representatives of governments, civil society and the private sector.

The CCGHS participants who attended the Commonwealth meeting in Vancouver were from Barbados, Cameroon, Canada, The Gambia, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, St Lucia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, the United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia.

CNIS - Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 290, 21 June 2006