Over $152 million was raised in a Partnership and Pledging Conference held at the first UN-Habitat Assembly, which is currently ongoing at the United Nations complex in Nairobi.

The over 100 delegates in attendance pledged to support the work on UN-Habitat in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and particularly SDG 11 which calls for cities to be more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

PPartnerships and Pledging Conference (L-R): Moderator Julie Gichuru; Naser Khraibut, Kuwait; Lars Gronveld, Director-General for International Cooperation and Development, European Commission; Irene Campos Gómez, Minister of Housing and Human Settlement, Costa Rica; Armand Roland Pierre Béouindé, Mayor of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Alexandre Pinho, Microsoft, Portugal

The conference brought together delegates from 38 governments, 10 local governments, and 32 other organizations.

“Given the milestones reached so far, the commitment shown at the Partnership and Pledging Conference, and the progress made at the UN-Habitat Assembly, I have absolutely no doubt that together, as partners, we can raise the necessary funds to help us achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Maimunah Mohd Shari said.

She proceeded to outline the Agency’s Strategic Plan aimed to help countries reduce spatial inequality and poverty, enhance prosperity of cities, strengthen climate change action, improve the urban environment, and mitigate and respond to urban crises.

She also added that the Plan would be guided by the principles of social inclusion and human rights for all including women, children, youth and older persons, the disabled, and other vulnerable groups.

UN-Habitat’s host country, Kenya, pledged increased support for UN-Habitat’s work. The country has also provided significant support for the UN-Habitat Assembly.

South Africa, which also pledged support, said it would continue to champion UN-Habitat’s work in areas such as slum upgrading, urban and territorial planning, and urban safety.

Pins are placed on a world map to indicate where pledges have been made towards UN-Habitat’s work.
(Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth)
Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), a global network of more than 1,750 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development, underlined the importance of bold and innovative leadership in the management of this transformational process, UN-Habitat’s continued engagement with local authorities and encouraged Member States to increase financial and technical contributions to support UN-Habitat’s programme of work.

The UN-Habitat Assembly, in session at UN-Habitat’s headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, from 27 to 31 May 2019, has attracted over 3,000 delegates from all over the world, including Heads of State and Government from Fiji, Kenya, South Sudan and Yemen, ministers and representatives of national and local governments, civil society, NGOs, businesses, academia, and other United Nations agencies.

Key meetings during the Assembly revolve around the theme of ‘Innovation for Better Quality of Life in Cities and Communities’.