Urban Poverty: What Consequences for SDC’s South Cooperation?

July 2016 / Martin Lippuner, Programme Manager, Division Latin America and Caribbean, Swiss Department for Development and Cooperation

Today, approximately 25 % of the world’s poor live in urban areas. This part will increase to 50 % by 2040. In view of such trends, SDC’s South Cooperation (SC) launched a reflection on the consequences for SC’s strategic positioning: Should SDC (SC) engage in a more substantive way in urban settings and if so, how?
A core group (all SDC domains represented) meets in July in a workshop to elaborate first recommendations. IDS’s research cluster “cities” is also involved and produced already two briefs on a) facts on urban poverty and b) mapping of key development actors in urban contexts. Results of an internal light-mapping of existing “urban” activities (SDC and SECO) will be soon available, too. The workshop results will result in a position paper that will in September be consulted within a broader reflection group.

Related resources:

Briefing Note “Cities, urbanization and poverty reduction”: This Briefing Note provides some key facts and figures about incidence and characteristics of urban (and rural) poverty, about the main opportunities and challenges of urbanization and about the possible approaches to best tackle the challenges.

Briefing Note “Urban Development Assistance”: This Briefing Note summarises the position of several key development partners in terms of their activities and approaches in urban settings.

Visit the Urban Povety Working Group page here »