November 13, 2008
WaterAid releases new report on preventing an urbanization crisis

Download Turning slums around (PDF 186 KB)

Rapid urbanization in the developing world is causing a slum crisis that threatens to spiral out of control unless governments take action to address water and sanitation.

This stark warning was given in a paper released by WaterAid at the UN World Urban Forum which took place in Nanjing, China held from November 3-6, 2008.

The paper, called Turning slums around: The case for water and sanitation, shows that chronic water and sanitation shortages in slums are being exacerbated by swelling populations and health, education and economic problems risk becoming unmanageable.

Without the aid system responding to the challenges of rapid urbanization, the struggle against poverty is not going to be well-targeted.

Over the next 30 years developing countries are to triple their population size and account for 80% of the world's urban population - the majority of this population, 60%, will live in slums.

Currently over one billion people live in slums and this figure is rising by 25 million a year. Only 1% of housing and urban aid gets to urban slums. Although Asia presently has over half the world's slum population (581 million), Africa is expected to exceed this percentage by 2020.

Timeyin Uwejamomere, WaterAid policy officer and author of the paper, commented:

"Sanitation and water are integral to urban development and yet there is no coherent commitment by governments and donors to address this crisis. It needs to be given the highest priority and recognition that water and sanitation bring massive health, education and economic benefits.

"Without the aid system responding to the challenges of rapid urbanization, the struggle against poverty is not going to be well-targeted."

To tackle this crisis WaterAid is calling on city authorities and national governments to make sanitation and water a priority in all urban reform plans and to explicitly focus on the growing urban slums.

Download Turning slums around ( PDF 186KB).

Read an article published about this paper on the BBC's website (opens in a new window).