Ghana Urban Forum held ahead of the World Urban Forum

One of the most pressing issues facing the world today is rapid urbanization and its impact on communities, cities, economies, climate change and policies. To address these urban issues, the World Urban Forum (WUF) was established in 2001 by the United Nations.  The Forum is convened by UN-Habitat.

The 10th Session of the WUF (WUF10) will take place from 8-13 February 2020 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Ahead of the WUF10, Ghana has held its national version, the eighth, in Accra. It was organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in collaboration with UN habitat, Cities Alliance, Coalition for Urban Transitions and other stakeholders.  

The 2-day event which took place on 14-15 January 2020 gathered over 200 participants from international organizations, civil societies, government agencies, media, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and the National Development Planning Commission. It was under the theme, ‘Unlocking the systems of planning, connecting and financing for Secondary and Intermediate Cities to propel growth towards the ‘Ghana beyond Aid’ Agenda.

The Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Hajia Alima Mahama, the Metropolitan Chief Executive of Accra, Hon. Mohammed Adjei Sowah, and the UN Resident Coordinator to Ghana, Ms. Sylvia Lopez-Ekra formerly opened the Forum. They all stressed on the importance of sustainable urbanization to addressing many development challenges and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Director of Urban Frontiers of Cities Alliance, Emeritus Professor Brian H. Roberts, made a presentation on the topic “Connecting Systems of Secondary Cities, how soft and hard infrastructure can foster equitable economic growth among secondary cities”. He explained that well-developed cities can harness economic opportunities locally and globally to propel sustainable development.  He added that effective urban planning and development can be attained when policy areas that tend to create bottlenecks are addressed.

The GUF2020 presented a platform to explore concepts that will support Ghana’s effective participation in the WUF10 and that which will attract potential investors for promoting urbanization and tackling emerging urbanization issues.