Helping the poorest in the world’s biggest cities

31 March 2010

A new programme to improve conditions in slum areas in some of the world’s biggest cities by giving residents better access to housing, transportation, energy, water and sanitation was announced today by Gareth Thomas.

The International Development Minister confirmed today that the programme would focus on Lagos, Nigeria’s “megacity” - a city with a population above 10 million.

The UK government’s Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (NIAF) will help to provide the first ever metropolitan rail lines in Lagos and improve commuter bus services which take people from the slums to the city centre - helping to significantly bolster transport facilities in the city.

Speaking at the launch of a new government paper on cities, Mr Thomas highlighted that Africa's growing urban centres offer huge, largely untapped opportunities for British business such as in the rapidly-expanding oil, gas and telecommunications industries and in Nigeria’s case, “Nollywood”.

The government of Nigeria predicts that over the next ten years Lagos could become the third largest city on the planet.

However, unless action is taken now to make sure that growth in these cities is properly planned, millions of people will live in poorly constructed housing with little or no access to water or sanitation and scant employment prospects thanks to a lack of electricity and poor transportation links.

Launching the programme, Gareth Thomas said:

"By 2030, 70% of people in Africa will live in slums. It's clear that we need to take urgent action so that the poorest people are not left behind as megacities like Lagos continue to grow.

"Cities offer massive opportunities for business. But with these opportunities come huge challenges – poor transportation, massive deprivation, overcrowding and a lack of basic facilities that we take for granted like running water and toilets.

"By helping to upgrade the buses and railways, our new funding will mean that Lagos's transport system is better able to meet the needs of its residents in the years to come, helping the city to reach its potential as an economic powerhouse and a good place to do business."

A DFID paper, “Cites: The New Frontier”, will look at how to reduce poverty worldwide in cities, towns and "megaregions" - regions which include two or more cities and have a population of over 10 million people.

Other examples of urban programmes which will be included in the paper are:

• The Urban LandMark scheme in Pretoria, which will improve poor people’s access to urban land by researching how land markets work and then work with the state, private sector and civil society to look at how they can better help the poor to access them.
• In Luanda, in Angola, DFID will help the urban poor by working with national and local governments to improve community management and planning.  

Notes to Editors

DFID’s NIAF programme will help the government of the Nigeria to better plan, finance and maintain infrastructure in the country by providing technical support in areas like construction, maintenance and operation works.

The project will have a budget in excess of £30 million over five years.

“Nollywood” is the Nigerian film industry.

NIAF will support the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) to provide the Blue and Red Lines – the city’s first metropolitan railway lines.

For further details contact the DFID Press Office on 020 7023 6000 or 07748 182231 or s-vickers@dfid.gov.uk