Global perspective Human stories

Local authorities have critical role in attaining MDGs, says UN housing agency

Local authorities have critical role in attaining MDGs, says UN housing agency

Nevsehir, Turkey
As the area of government closest to the people, local authorities have a critical role to play in attaining the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of combating a host of socio-economic ills, according to the head of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT).

As the area of government closest to the people, local authorities have a critical role to play in attaining the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of combating a host of socio-economic ills, according to the head of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT).

Local authorities have contributed significantly to global efforts towards achieving the international quest for peace and sustainable development and reducing urban poverty, UN-HABITAT Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka said in a message to the International Local Authorities Conference for Peace and Social Integration being held this week in Nevsehir, Turkey.

Ms. Tibaijuka highlighted the increased collaboration in the past decade between UN-HABITAT and local authorities and noted their key role in achieving the MDG target on slum upgrading.

The MDGs, adopted at the UN Millennium Summit of 2000, seek to halve extreme poverty and hunger, slash maternal and infant mortality and dramatically increase access to health care and education, all by 2015.

The conference is being organized by the municipality of Nevsehir, gateway to the ancient Silk Road cave city of Cappadocia, with the Turkish Association of Local Authorities (TALA) and their partners in collaboration with UN-HABITAT.

Many participants agreed that the best way of promoting peace was to build inclusive cities where everyone had sense of belonging. “We must think of peace before conflicts occur,” Nevsehir Mayor Hassan Ünver said in an opening speech. “We must not wait for cities to be destroyed before engaging in reconstruction.”

Delegates included panellists from countries recently in conflict such as Iraq, the Balkans, and Somalia. The Governor of Baghdad, shared his daily experience in tackling the challenges of terrorism, violence and crime which destroy the urban infrastructure and affect the poor.