Background and Objectives
Background
Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme, an initiative of the ACP Secretariat and financed by the European Commission, is currently implementing an urbanization and poverty assessment in partnership with the Ministry of Home Affairs representing the Government of Tuvalu. These are targeting slum upgrading and prevention strategies and policies towards the implementation of Millennium Development Goal 7. The programme started mid-2012 and this current phase ends 2015.
Objectives
The Government of Tuvalu has committed to institutionalize a participatory governance and urban development assessment approach, to review urban management and development priorities for improving the lives of the urban poor.
Tuvalu has reaffirmed its commitment to developing a urban management plan with consideration for dialogue on relevant, supporting (urban and housing) policy in greater depth and mainstreaming the housing issue in development goal reviews.
Tuvalu has started institutionalizing the PSUP Country Team experience through city-wide consultations focusing on poverty and participatory slum upgrading that will enable the Government of Tuvalu to incorporate outcomes of the PSUP in the global debate in preparation of Habitat III for Housing and Sustainable Urban Development.
The PSUP for Tuvalu has the vision of strengthening relationships between national and sub-national government and opportunity to progress analysis of past urbanization and housing studies in support of national goals for sustainable urban environments and a suggested national urbanization policy and starting to mainstream slum issues in other policies to address urban poverty.
Activities
The Government of Tuvalu has initiated a Country Team to steer the programme activities, have a maximum learning process and to ensure that the programme approach is well adapted to the countries' needs and capacities.
The Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme in Tuvalu is currently being implemented in the urban atolls of Funafuti and Vaitapu.
Results
Ministry and city government (Kapule) officials have been trained on participatory urban assessment, result-based management, gender, human rights-based approaches as well as planning, basic urban services, housing and land issues;
The Government has participated in the World Urban Forum in Medellin and participated in bi- and multilateral consultations of the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme;
An understanding and commitment to the right of participation in urban decision-making has been achieved.
Acknowledged the universal right to adequate housing through supporting development and implementation of the PSUP
Discussion for the inclusion of the PSUP in the government budget allowing for sustainability and replication of the approach in Tuvalu;
The PSUP country team has incorporated the PSUP activities and principles into the MHA corporate plan for 2014-16. Priorities include the improvement of access to housing and affordability and the continuance of good governance efforts through strengthened partnerships with local government and other partners.
Commitment to design a participatory slum upgrading programme following the first results of the urban profiling as well as to seek additional and/or a co-financing for an urban and housing policy dialogue for slum upgrading and prevention.
Development Partners: European Commission; African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) Secretariat
Partner: Ministry of Home Affairs
