Government has affirmed its commitment to effectively implement the New Urban Agenda by addressing rapid urbanization and aligning development plans with the New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals among other means.
National Development Planning Minister Alexander Chiteme says promoting innovative resource mobilization and strengthening partnerships and coordination with development partners are also key in achieving the agenda.
Mr. Chiteme says Zambia, like other developing countries, is affected by rapid urbanisation, currently estimated at 42 per cent and projected to increase to 60 per cent by 2050.
He says this poses challenges for sustainable management of human settlements and therefore Zambia is working on measures to address the situation.
The Minister was speaking at the First Session of the UN-Habitat Assembly in Kenya under the sub-theme: “Accelerated implementation of the New Urban Agenda towards achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals”.
According to A statement issued to Money Fm news, the New Urban Agenda is a UN-Member States agreed vision to transform how people construct, manage and live in urban areas for a sustainable future.
And UN Habitat Executive Director Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif has reiterated the Habitat’s commitment to the participatory Slum Upgrading Programme (PSUP) in Zambia.
The United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) adopted the New Urban Agenda in Quito, Ecuador in 2016 aimed at making urbanisation well-planned and well-managed for a better and more sustainable future.