Background and objectives
The 3 million inhabitants of Abidjan represent 40 per cent of the urban population of Côte d'Ivoire.  The Government and municipalities are faced with rapid growth of urban poverty.  In 1993, about 32 per cent of the population of Abidjan had no access to basic urban infrastructure.  The provision of basic urban services has failed to match population growth, and the municipalities are unable to address this problem properly, owing a lack of human and financial resources and inadequate urban poverty alleviation strategies and policies.  The project aims to assist the Municipality of Abidjan, in the four communes of Abobo, Adjame, Bingerville and Port Bouet, to formulate and implemente an urban poverty alleviation programme at the municipal level, involving key partners, governmental institutions, municipalities, NGOs and the private sector. 

Activities
The project activities focus on strengthening the capacity of the four communes to elaborate and implement urban poverty alleviation programmes creating job opportunities in the formal and informal sectors, building capacity in community-based and non-governmental organizations and local authorities and to improve accessibility to basic services for the poor. 

Results
Results include long-term action plans for each commune for poverty alleviation and a short-term action plan with priorities identified by the beneficiaries.  Funding will be mobilized for specific plot projects at the municipal level, and it is expected that at the end of the project, the municipality will be in a better position to develop a poverty alleviation programme.