MLGCRA, UN-Habitat Hold Bilateral Meeting to Deepen Urban Development Collaboration

Ghana is stepping up efforts to strengthen collaboration with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in advancing sustainable urban development and addressing the challenges of rapid urbanisation.

This follows a bilateral meeting between the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs (MLGCRA) and UN-Habitat held on Thursday, 30th October 2025, at the Ministry’s Executive Conference Room in Accra.

The meeting focused on strengthening ongoing and future partnerships to promote inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities in line with Sustainable Development Goal 11 and the New Urban Agenda.

Speaking during the meeting, the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim (MP), commended UN-Habitat for its consistent technical and policy support to Ghana’s urban development agenda.

“It is always a pleasure to welcome our development partners to engagements that advance Ghana’s journey toward sustainable urban development,” he said. “Urban development is not a one-time event but an ongoing process.”

The Minister highlighted major collaborative initiatives, including the National Slum Upgrading and Prevention Strategy (NSUPS), first developed in 2013 and currently being reviewed with support from UN-Habitat. He noted that the revised strategy is in its final stage and will be launched during World Cities Day.

He also mentioned progress on the National Urban Policy and Implementation Plan, which aligns with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda. The revised policy, he said, will soon be presented to Cabinet for approval.

Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim further highlighted the Ghana Smart SDG Cities Programme, jointly implemented with UN-Habitat and funded by the Government of Norway, which is supporting ten cities through data-driven and impact-oriented approaches to localise the SDGs.

He added that, with support from the World Bank, the Ministry has developed a Sustainable Cities Strategy (SCS) to complement the revised National Urban Policy. The strategy provides targeted actions to address challenges related to housing, waste management, mobility, spatial planning and governance.

The Minister appealed for UN-Habitat’s continued technical and financial support to implement the Sustainable Cities Strategy and finalise both the National Urban Policy (2025–2034) and the National Slum Upgrading and Prevention Strategy (NSUPS).

He also called for support in disseminating and operationalising the Local Economic Development Policy (2024–2029) launched last year, as well as in developing the Ministry’s Sector Medium-Term Development Plan (2026–2029) to guide its programmes over the next four years.

In her remarks, Ms. Abena Ntori, UN-Habitat Country Manager for Ghana, commended the Ministry for its leadership and reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting Ghana’s sustainable urbanisation efforts. She said UN-Habitat remains open to deeper collaboration in implementing impactful and inclusive development projects.

Source: Darling Maame Efua Cann
MLGCRA Public Relations Unit.