SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES
A large percentage of gross domestic product in many African countries is generated in cities, these cities are the engines of economic growth that have lifted millions out of poverty. One side of this economic growth that is been ignored is the acceleration of rural-to-urban migration. Cities in Africa continue to be homes to an increasing population of people and unfortunately, a considerable number of these people will end up living in urban slums. According to the World Bank, over four billion people around the world – more than 50% of the global population – live in cities, and East Africa and the Pacific alone, for example, cities house 1.3 billion – almost rivalling the population of India. The stark reality is that the number is not only still growing, but growing fast and most rapidly in Asia and Africa. The trend will remain as individuals and families continue migrating to urban areas to seek better livelihoods.
This migration into large urban cities brought with it, the difficulty of meeting the basic needs of millions of people and this has become an ever-increasing challenge. The environmental and health challenges that have been witnessed in major cities came as a result of overpopulation, excessive consumption, pollution, and depletion of resources. The need to reimagine urban landscapes and find solutions has never been greater. In 1994, the Aalborg Charter for Sustainable Cities and Towns was created, and since then, cities around the world have been leading the way in innovative and integrated approaches to sustainable living, a drive at which the performance of some African cities has not been encouraging. It is an obvious fact that many cities in Africa are already struggling with urban infrastructure, traffic congestion, environmental degradation, and a lack of basic services, such as water supply, sanitation, and waste management.
Families are dying not only from starvation in some urban slums but also from diseases such as cholera and measles because they lack clean water and sanitation. Our commitment at Golden Oasis Spring Foundation to sustainable cities and communities involves an active engagement of all stakeholders and partners in four major areas of interest, namely; waste management, water supply, education and sanitation.