Localising the implementation of the Global Action Plan for Accelerating the Transformation of Slums and Informal Settlements

In the final Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SDG indicator 11.1.1 to “reduce the proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing“ is one of nine indicators whose implementation has regressed globally. A rapidly growing urbanisation of poverty with projections of three billion slum dwellers by 2050, if no action is taken, calls for urgent, significant, and coordinated efforts. In view of this, UN-Habitat with its partners of the Slums and Informal Settlements Network (SISnet) has elaborated a “Global Action Plan: Accelerating for Transforming Informal Settlements and Slums by 2030” (GAP) to provide a vision, principles, accelerators, and action areas for all governance levels. Spearheaded by the Government of South Africa, the GAP was launched in October 2022 and its ten action areas were formally adopted by the Resolution “2/2. Accelerating the transformation of informal settlements and slums by 2030” during the UN-Habitat Assembly in June 2023. In response to those efforts, the Board of the Cities Alliance, as multi-stakeholder partnership co-chaired by the Government of South Africa and Habitat for Humanity International, agreed to support the GAP through its Informality Task Force, a platform for exchange between a variety of stakeholders engaged in slum transformation.

The Networking Session aims to bring together the members of the Informality Task Force and further stakeholders to set key milestones for localising the implementation of the GAP in countries that have actively supported the resolution, by
a. providing a space for dialogue to foster commitment on all levels for implementing solutions that respond to locally prioritised demands, and
b. consolidating multilevel partnerships that enable local stakeholders to mobilise technical and financial support and leverage synergies for implementation, tapping into the rich diversity and complementarity of expertise of the SiSnet network.

Prior to WUF 12, key stakeholders from countries that have actively supported the resolution will be requested to launch national dialogues with representatives from local government, NGOs and CSOs, academia, and the private sector to identify pressing demands and desirable visions for slum transformation, as well as contribute to the identification of pressing demands and possible solutions within the ten key action areas. The networking event will provide an opportunity to share the outcomes of these consultations, determine the possible support, and define next steps.