Written evidence submitted by the International
Housing Coalition (IHC)
1. The International Housing Coalition (IHC)
was pleased to learn that the House of Commons is reviewing the
mission, goals, and programs of the Department for International
Development (DFID). In the United States a similar examination
of foreign aid and how to make it more effective is underway.
The IHC, a non-profit advocacy organization based in Washington
D.C., is actively involved in these reform efforts. In particular,
it advocates that more attention should be given to the problems
of poor housing, slums, and urbanization in the developing world.
We hope that our comments will be of interest and use to the Committee
of Inquiry.
2. Foreign assistance in the 21st century
dictates a multi-sector approach with urbanization and urban poverty
as key organizing principles. Half of the world's population now
lives in cities. It is estimated that 30% of that population,
over a billion people, currently live in slums characterized by
poor housing, unsanitary conditions, and a lack of basic services.
With almost all future urban growth expected to be in the developing
world, urban development is a compelling challenge that can have
a significant impact on the future. Current aid priorities featuring
poverty reduction and encompassing health, water and sanitation,
education, youth unemployment, and climate change can all be more
effectively and efficiently addressed through comprehensive urban
assistance programs.
3. In addition, the global financial crisis
will have a significant impact on the urban poor, who have no
social safety net to protect them. The World Bank writes: "the
urban poor are particularly vulnerable in times of crisis due
to their heavy reliance on the cash economy, job losses and wage
reductions in urban based industries, and no agricultural production
to fall back on." Slums are a reality, but by working with
developing countries to manage the urbanization process, provide
basic services, and generate economic growth, foreign aid can
improve current conditions and counter the factors that threaten
to generate huge growth in slums and urban poverty over the next
decades.
4. The IHC generally supports DFID's programs,
policies, and priorities, and encourages DFID to expand and broaden
its urban programming. For example, the IHC shares the view that
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) provide an appropriate
framework for foreign assistance programming, including MGD Target
7. Like DFID, the IHC is supportive of the Cities Alliance and
recognizes the importance of working through community-based organizations
that effectively represent the poor. The IHC particularly commends
DFID's work in India where slums and urban development are at
the centre of its programming, addressing education, basic service
provision, urban management, housing finance, health, and livelihoods
including support to CLIF and SUF. However, it appears DFID's
urban programming outside of India is limited and, where present,
restricted mainly to the water and sanitation sectors. While these
are important priorities, the billion people living in poor housing
in urban areas across the developing world would benefit from
an expansion of this assistance. Indeed, urban investments are
an efficient use of limited foreign assistance resources and essential
to future poverty reduction.
5. While DFID is a leader in urban programming,
the poor housing conditions and lack of basic services that exist
in urban areas in the developing world do not receive the attention
they warrant. While some donors support such housing-related activities
as land titling and housing micro-finance, more attention needs
to be given to developing projects to improve housing conditions
in slums. Programs to encourage and assist both homeowners and
landlords to expand and improve the informally built housing in
the slums are needed. Projects to foster more efficient land markets,
an essential but often overlooked aspect of urban development,
would help to expand the supply of land suitable for low-income
housing. Strengthening property rights is critical to giving security
of tenure to slum dwellers and helping them to access micro-finance
and other assistance. Encouraging the formation of housing advocacy
groups in developing countries that can work with government to
design programs and strategies to improve the housing conditions
of the poor is another avenue to reducing urban poverty.
6. To bring you up to date on current foreign
aid thinking in the U.S., there appears to be a growing recognition
of the importance of urbanization and the challenges and opportunities
posed by the growth of slums. There is an active movement to rewrite
the authorizing legislation for U.S. foreign assistance (The Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961) to reflect a twenty-first century approach
to development. Congressman Howard Berman Chairman of the House
Foreign Relations Committee is committed to producing a new foreign
assistance act for consideration by Congress this year. Many groups
are encouraging the Committee to incorporate the Millennium Development
Goals into a new act. The IHC has met with his staff on several
occasions to recommend that the new act specifically recognize
the importance of urbanization and the current need, and future
benefit, of focusing development resources on improving slum conditions.
7. Two other pieces of U.S. legislation
currently under review by Congress highlight reducing urban poverty.
Congressman Brad Miller has introduced legislation (the SLUM Assistance
Act) to mandate the U.S. government to develop a strategy to improve
housing, security of tenure, urban management, and development.
Senator Richard Durbin has proposed a significant increase in
funding for the existing water and sanitation for the poor act.
The IHC is actively supporting both bills.
8. A number of the major U.S. foundations
such as the Rockefeller and Gates Foundations are funding innovative
urban initiatives in developing countries. The IHC recently received
a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to document the challenges
and opportunities posed by urbanization in the developing world.
The resulting White Paper will be published this summer.
9. In short, the IHC is optimistic that
more attention and increased financial and technical resources
will be directed by the U.S. Government to slums in the coming
years, leading to the improved management of urban growth in the
developing world.
10. Specifically, the IHC recommends improving
U.S. foreign assistance by giving more emphasis to the challenges
and opportunities of urbanization, by way of the following:
— Proactively increase awareness about
the challenges and opportunities of urbanization and growing slums;
incorporate urban concerns in a U.S. foreign assistance strategy
and recognize urban investments as a foreign aid priority
— Increase the technical capacity of USAID
and other U.S. assistance agencies to develop effective urban
strategies and programs by significantly increasing staff and
hiring urban development experts
— Increase funding for urban areas, including
improving the capacity of local and national governments in the
developing world to plan and manage urban growth and improve coordination
of funding mechanisms
— Urban programs should have the following
characteristics. They should:
(a)be multi-sectoral in nature, recognize intergovernmental
relationships, and be funded by multiple donors;
(b)provide assistance based on the development
of multi-year plans that recognize local needs and priorities;
(c)promote public-private partnerships in planning,
programming and investment including self help initiatives to
improve housing and public services;
(d)set clear goals and objectives and monitor
and report on progress, results, and effectiveness; and
(e)learn from proven best practices and strategies.
|
