Habitat for Humanity International and UN-HABITAT on Wednesday signed a cooperation agreement to strengthen the fight against urban poverty and improve disaster relief. The two organisations said the idea was to pool their experience and expertise in providing shelter, services to people living in poverty stricken urban areas and countries ravaged by conflict or natural disasters. “This collaboration is an important step towards the meeting the Millennium Development Goals of halving the number of poor by 2015 and in improving living conditions among slum dwellers,” said UN-HABITAT's Executive Director, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka. “From policy-level decisions to the implementation of strategies, the combined experience of UN-HABITAT and Habitat for Humanity International will be a powerful force to meet the challenges of slum upgrading and providing decent housing in cities all over the world.” Tom Jones, Vice-President of Habitat for Humanity International who signed the agreement with Mrs. Tibaijuka on Wednesday said: “This agreement not only brings together organisations that have the capacity to help improve living conditions among the poor, but it will have a huge impact on international housing policy. Working together, we aim to place housing for loc income people at the centre of the international development agenda by addressing issues that perpetuate the cycle of poverty housing.” |
