In an effort to address the challenge of health and well-being of African populations as a key lever for Africa’s growth, African mayors in conclave in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) have launched « Healthy Cities », a platform for building resilient health systems and sustainable initiatives.
In other words, through this platform the mayors aspire to improve the governance of cities for health and wellbeing, as well as promoting sustainable livelihoods.
The initiative is jointly supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa and the United Nations Habitat Programme (UN Habitat). It is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Adelheid Onyango, Director of the Universal Health Coverage/Healthier People Group at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, said Healthy Cities is a WHO-supported initiative that aims to put health at the top of the social and political agenda of African cities by promoting health, equity and sustainable development through innovation and multi-sectoral change.
« The mayors of the participating cities have committed to address these priorities by adopting more participatory approaches to urban governance for health and well-being, and by promoting social innovations and dialogues at the local level, » he said.
Note that in Togo, a regional center of excellence on sustainable cities in Africa (CERViDA-DOUNEDON) has been established. This program in Togo is part of the National Development Plan (NDP) which focuses on training and research in the sector of urban and sustainable development and to accompany African countries to meet the challenges of urbanization on the continents
