U.N. cities agency on the mend.

• Author: Sheehan, Molly O'Meara
• Position: United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat - Brief Article

U.N. cities agency on the mend: For several years, the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) has struggled with neither a permanent head nor stable funding to raise the profile of its twin goals: to ensure adequate shelter for all people and to make cities, towns, and villages greener and more equitable places to live. Five years ago, Habitat staged a "Cities Summit" in Istanbul (see "A Summit for Cities," May/June 1996), which spurred national officials, local authorities, and NGO activists to work together on common problems of urbanization. While the conference left the agency's coffers severely depleted, Habitat may finally be on the mend. Led by a new executive director, Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, the agency is filling vacant posts, raising funds, and gearing up for a special session of the U.N. General Assembly in June that will assess progress over the past five years.

Tibaijuka, a former professor of agricultural economics from Tanzania, is the first African woman to run a U.N. agency. She has stressed Habitat's role in improving urban and rural living conditions by helping woment pull their families out of poverty through access to education and control over their own lands. Women head the majority of poor households, particularly in city slums, yet they are rarely involved in politics or policymaking. Poor women must have "a voice and a choice in the decisions that affect their lives," she says. "I was born in the village and came to the city, but I was prepared to leave the village because I had an education."

Tibaijuka's leadership has inspired national governments to increase their contributions to Habitat's budget. In February, Norway pledged $560,000 to Habitat--a 10-fold increase over last year. Top donors such as the United Kingdom and Sweden increased their funding by nearly 50 percent, and India...