Major Increase in Funding for UN-HABITAT from the Government of The Netherlands New partnership strengthens UN-HABITAT's role in overcoming urban poverty Nairobi, 20 February, 2003: The Government of The Netherlands has given Eur. 7,830,537.50 (US $ 8,409,997) to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme within the framework of a two year Partnership Programme. This increase in funding, from one of its major donors, explicitly recognises the success of UN-HABITAT's work in implementing the Habitat Agenda. At the same time, the Dutch Government has raised its annual contribution from Eur. 453,780 to Eur. 1,272,000 (US $ 1,366,128) from 2003 onwards. In 2002, the Government of The Netherlands carried out an in-depth assessment of UN-HABITAT which concluded that the process of institutional revitalisation, started in 1998, had been a success. Moreover, given the massive process of urbanisation taking place in developing countries, it called for further strengthening of the Programme. "Since 1978, the Government of The Netherlands has been one of our strongest supporters and this renewed vote of confidence will be a major boost to our work programme and the implementation of our new strategic vision. Since its revitalisation, one of the major constraints confronting UN-HABITAT has been the lack of predictable and stable financing," said Mrs. Tibaijuka. "Through this unique partnership programme we hope to build the capacity of the organisation even further so that we can meet the challenges set by the Millennium Development Goals. Especially those targets concerned with improving the living conditions of over 100 million slum dwellers by 2020 and providing the poor with sustainable access to safe drinking water." The new partnership funding will be used in the following priority areas: Urban Poverty Reduction, Urban Youth Development Policies, Slum Upgrading and improvements in Land Tenure Security, Improved Urban Governance, Monitoring the implementation of the Habitat Agenda and Urban Environmental Improvements including Water for Asian Cities. These priorities were set through a unique consultative process between UN-HABITAT and the Dutch Government. H.E. Mrs. Tanya Van Gool, the new Dutch Ambassador to Kenya and Permanent Representative to UN-HABITAT and UNEP, said, "The new partnership programme marks the beginning of a new phase in what we hope will be a long standing relationship between my country and UN-HABITAT. In a rapidly, urbanising world, the successful implementation of the Habitat Agenda becomes ever more critical. And we are convinced that the revitalised UN-HABITAT is ready and able to take on the challenges set by the international community. These funds will help the Programme to work in important areas of urban development, especially in the provision of water and sanitation to the urban poor." For further information, please contact: Mr. Sharad Shankardass, Spokesperson, or Ms. Zahra Hassan, Press & Media Liaison, Press & Media Relations Unit, Tel: (254 2) 624060, Fax: (254 2) 624060, E-mail: habitat.press@unhabitat.org, Website: www.unhabitat.org Mr. G. Gerlag, Ist Secretary, Royal Netherlands Embassy, Tel: 4447412/15; email: gijs.gerlag@minbuza.nl Editor's Note: UN-HABITAT is the agency within the UN charged with the responsibility of promoting sustainable urbanization through policy formulation, institutional reform, capacity-building, technical cooperation and advocacy, and to monitor and improve the state of human settlements worldwide. The main objectives of UN-HABITAT include supporting governments and other partners to improve shelter conditions of the urban poor; the adoption of operationally effective urban governance and to promote international cooperation in the field of shelter and human settlements development. The new funding partnership between the Government of The Netherlands and UN-HABITAT will prioritise 6 major areas and the following types of projects: Urban Poverty Reduction through Employment Enhancing positive rural-urban linkages - with the aim of strengthening the balanced development of both rural and urban areas - promoting local economic development and generating urban employment. Providing opportunities and empowering urban women entrepreneurs through housing upgrading, local building materials production, and land and property rights. Urban Youth Development Policies Development of Youth in urban areas with emphasis on social crime prevention - with the overall goal of reducing youth vulnerability in urban areas through empowerment and reduction of risk factors of becoming marginalised and socially excluded. Development of Urban Youth Policies with emphasis on building construction and infrastructure income generating skills - with the overall goal of reducing youth vulnerability in urban areas by enhancing the capacity of youth organisations to acquire and promote entrepreneurial skills for building, construction and income generation that will assist reduce urban poverty. Slum Upgrading and Improvement in Land Tenure Security Promotion of community-based mortgages and micro credit - with the main objective of improving the standard of living of the urban poor and the youth through better access to financial resources for housing improvement. Cities without slums in Africa, Asia and Latin America, with the main goal of strengthening institutional arrangements and partnerships that support the improvement of conditions of people living in slums in selected cities in these regions; Legislative and land reform reviews in support of security of tenure - the primary aim is envisaged to provide assistance to partners involved in the review and analysis of policies, legislation and practices related to land and shelter in selected countries. Urban Environmental Improvements Localising Agenda 21 Programme - whose goal is to promote environmentally sustainable local development to enhance the vital contributions urban areas make to national economic development. Sustainable Cities Programme - the programme facilitates building capacities in urban environmental planning and management. It is a cluster of inter-related and mutually supportive activities that link operational and normative actions at city, country, regional and global levels. Water for Asian Cities - the programme will help build institutional capacity to expand the Water for African Cities programme into the cities of Asia. Improved Urban Governance Through the consolidation and expansion of the Urban Governance Campaign by enhancing the capacity of the Habitat Agenda partners to adopt innovative practices towards good urban governance through national campaigns, development of tools and documentation of lessons learned, and regional mainstreaming. Monitoring Implementation of the Habitat Agenda Improved monitoring of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda through the Global Urban Observatory. This includes improved monitoring of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda through the documentation of pro-poor and gender-sensitive urban policies and legislation. Strengthening the reporting of global monitoring results through the Global Report on Human Settlements and the State of the World's Cities Report. By setting up a Global Research network on Habitat Agenda Monitoring and Reporting, as well as reinforcing the Best Practices database.