Habitat III Regional Meeting in Africa

WIEGO’s Victoria Okoye attended the Habitat III Africa Regional Meeting in Abuja, Nigeria. This meeting provided a platform to debate regional priorities for the New Urban Agenda and to develop a final regional participants’ declaration. The final declaration from Habitat III Africa Regional Meeting is considered official input to the Habitat III process.

Day 1

Dedicated to stakeholder forums, where WIEGO, the Huairou Commission, and Slum Dwellers International (SDI) organized a grassroots-focused discussion on women’s development, informal settlements, and informal livelihoods.

Day 2

The two main activities of the morning on day 2 were the Women’s Caucus and the strategy meeting for the development of the women’s statement, which was presented later in the day. There were also discussions on the Africa Regional Meeting Advisory Board—particularly with regards to the representation of the Huairou Commission, SDI, and WIEGO on the board; and encouraging others to reach out with questions, insights, and experiences that should be brought forward into future meetings.

Day 3

Wednesday 24 February was the launch of the Africa Regional Meeting, a series of presentations and panels by UN-Habitat, the University of Lagos, and Cities Alliance Ghana.

Day 4

On the fourth day, WIEGO held a combined event with the Huairou Commission, discussing the importance of inclusive growth in both economic and urban planning. Local context from Nigeria—with a focus on Abuja and Lagos—was given to highlight the need for skill and capacity building for members of the informal sector. A lack of access to basic social services and infrastructure were discussed in this event, as well as the impact this has on workers.

For more information

Visit the Habitat III Africa Regional Meeting page