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From Africa Recovery, Vol.17 #3 (October 2003), page 24 African slums on the rise If no serious action is taken, the world's 1 billion slum dwellers will likely double in number within 30 years, predicts the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat). The agency's report, The Challenge of Slums: Global Report on Human Settlements 2003, notes that while slums exist in all parts of the world, they are concentrated in developing countries. An estimated 50 per cent of slum dwellers are in South-Central and Eastern Asia, 14 per cent in Latin America and 17 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa. "The proportion in Africa is rising rapidly as populations
increase and urban housing shortages continue, while it is falling
in Latin America due to regularization and slum improvement,"
the study notes. The average proportion of city dwellers living
in slums in developing countries is 43 per cent, UN Habitat
reports, but for sub-Saharan Africa the proportion is "an
alarming 72 per cent." Slums often lack basic services
such as water and sanitation, have inadequate and unsafe building
structures and are overcrowded. The report urges local and national
governments and the international community to take action against
poverty, the underlying cause of slum proliferation. This article may be freely reproduced, with attribution to
"Africa Recovery, United Nations". Africa Recovery Tel: (212) 963-6857
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