As a UN institution, UN-HABITAT was able yet again in 2008 to influence national government policies and help align these on the international agenda, it worked hard during the year to help central and local governments to strengthen their abilities in every aspect of urban life – legislation, policy-making and decentralization, along with the building of administrative, managerial, operational and financial capacities.

This catalogue presents of products and services provided by UN-HABITAT under its medium term strategic and institutional plan.

Although sanitation has been hailed as “the most important medical advance since 1840”, over 2.5 billion people – most of them in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia – lack access to basic sanitation.

The landmark decisions taken at the biennial gathering of governments in the UN-HABITAT Governing Council which oversees our work and budget were of great significance because 2007 marked a key turning point in human history.