Statement by UN-Habitat Executive Director, Maimunah Mohd Sharif

6 April, 2018

Today, we celebrate the role of sports in promoting development and peace. The UN General Assembly has designated 6 April as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, commemorating the inauguration of the first Olympic games of the modern era, in Athens, Greece in 1896. Adoption of the Day signifies the increasing recognition by the Member States of the positive influence that sport can have on the advancement of human rights, social and economic development.

Kalobeyei, 6 April 2018 --UN-Habitat together with UNHCR organized a one-day donor mission to Kakuma to tour the Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement Development Programme. The mission, which was convened by UN-Habitat Executive Director Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif, brought together ambassadors and UN-Habitat representatives from several member states - including the main donor to the project, the government of Japan.

Nairobi 3 April 2018—UN-Habitat recently held a one-day capacity building training for Participatory Urban Planning for executives from Kenya’s Turkana County.

Nairobi, 3 April 2018—UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimuna Moh’d Sharif, in a rejoinder to a story by Kenya’s Star newspaper, has allayed the fears that the agency might be split and some of the functions at the global headquarters in Nairobi be taken away to New York and the Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa.

Nairobi, 3 April 2018—UN-Habitat last week hosted a high level ministerial team from the Marsabit County Government, Kenya to discuss how to improve the livelihoods of youth in that region.

Kabul, 3 April 2018 – Kabul citizens launch a three-day campaign on cleaning, greening and painting the capital city of Afghanistan on the celebration of the traditional New Year holiday (Nawroz). With technical support from UN-Habitat, this activity intends to raise citizens’ awareness about the relevance of the sustainability of public spaces in our cities.

Al Shoka, Gaza Strip, 29 March 2018 – UN-Habitat jointly with UN-Women, the Palestinian Housing Council, Aisha Association for Woman and child protection, and GGateway inaugurated the first safe and inclusive community garden in Al-Shoka town in Gaza Strip.

Nairobi, 29 March 2018—UN-Habitat Executive Director, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, has pledged to strengthen the agency to make it more responsive to the needs of countries to address the challenges of rapid urbanization and harness the benefits of good urbanization.

Nairobi, 21 March 2018 – In a joint statement, partners working on cities and climate change have laid down the foundations for better-informed city climate action and decision-making, as a result of greater engagement between the policy, practice, and scientific communities working in urban areas.

Khartoum 22 March 2018-- Through the support of the Government of Japan, UN-Habitat this week launched the project ‘Support to Hosting Communities Affected by South Sudanese Refugees in White Nile State’.