Solid Waste Management in Africa has long been a neglected area. Only less than 5% of the total SWM-focused development finance between 2003 and 2012 was received by Sub-saharan Africa region. However, Africa’s urbanization rate is 3.5%, the highest in the world. Due to the rapid urbanization in recent years, municipal solid waste management has become a big challenge for many cities, as lower income cities in Africa expected to double their municipal solid waste generation within the next 15-20 years.
Moreover, in 2015, the United Nations adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with over 250 measurement indicators. Of these indicators, several were specifically designed to yield information on waste, including municipal solid waste (indicator 11.6.1), hazardous waste (12.4.2) and recycling rates (12.5.1).
However, these waste SDG lack data or any agreed monitoring methodologies.
To address the increasing problem of waste management in Africa, in April 2017, UN-Habitat joined its effort with UN Environment, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Ministry of the Environment and Yokohama City to establish African Clean Cities Platform, a knowledge sharing, SDG monitoring and investment promotion platform for the improved solid waste management and achieve waste SDGs in Africa.
Related Sustainable Development Goals
Leaving no one and no place behind
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The prioritisation of human rights addresses the structural causes of inequalities and discrimination in an integrated manner. Urbanisation can only be sustainable if it is human rights based, and living conditions can only be improved for all if everyone’s human rights are comprehensively promoted and protected. UN-Habitat applies the Human-Rights Based Approach to address inequalities and discrimination, reaching the furthest behind first by placing power relationships in human settlements at the heart of its analysis and action.
Women and girls are the ones often involved in the waste sorting activities in hazardous environments, such as open dumpsite, leaving them exposed to health and safety threats. Supporting cities and countries to improve their waste management systems, will result in safer working conditions for women and girls.
Similarly to women and girls, also youth are obliged to work in open dumpsites to earn a small amount of money for daily survivor. Supporting cities and countries to improve their waste management systems, will result in safer working conditions for youth too.
Sustainable urban development can only be achieved if persons with disabilities are included meaningfully in decision-making and are able to access their rights. UN-Habitat partners with representative groups and individual rights holders, as well as national and local governments, relevant UN bodies and civil society to maximize impact and to meaningfully ensure that the rights including accessibility and universal design of persons with disabilities are promoted, respected and protected.
Donors and partners
ACCP was established by the will of Japan's Ministry of the Environment, JICA, the City of Yokohama, to respond to the increasing issue of waste management in African countries as well as to foster sustainable growth models. At a side event held at the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) in Nairobi, Kenya in August 2016, participants came to a consensus on the necessity of creating a framework for solving the waste problem. ACCP was then established.
