HUMAN WRONGS WATCH

New York, 6 October 2014 — Over the past decade, efforts under the Millennium Development Goals have cut the proportion of people living in slums by more than half.  Yet, over the same period, rapid urbanization, especially in the developing world, has seen overall slum populations rise.  In some parts of sub-Saharan Africa, as many as 70 per cent of urban dwellers live in slums and informal settlements, said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s in his message on World Habitat Day, observed on 6 October

Source: UN Habitat

Slums are often located on the least desirable and appropriate land, such as flood plains and steep hillsides, and are inherently vulnerable to the increasingly severe weather events that climate change is causing.

Many of the people who inhabit slums were pushed to migrate by the lack of opportunities in rural areas or their countries of origin.  They regularly lack basic services such as water, sanitation, electricity and street lighting. Crime is often endemic, with women and girls particularly at risk. Unemployment, underemployment and the cost of transport to distant places of work add further hardship.