UN-HABITAT had been present in Nepal intermittently since the late 1980s engaging in a number of technical assistance programmes in the field of human settlements development. In 2005, the Water for Asian Cities was launched in the country focusing on water and environmental sanitation infrastructure and administration.

The primary governmental counterpart for this programme is the Ministry of Physical Planning Works and its relevant departments, while secondary counterparts are local authorities. As of September 2007, a Habitat Programme Manger has also been recruited to strengthen representation of the agency with government and the UN Country Team.

This UN-HABITAT Country Programme Document (HCPD) has been developed in the context of a historically significant political transition that is taking place in Nepal at present. The HCPD attempts to address key urban development challenges and priorities on the thematic areas of land and housing, shelter and basic services, capacity development and urban governance.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the world’s 7th most populous and second largest Muslim nation, after Indonesia, with a population of about 160 million. Current trends in urban development remain uncontrolled and unguided and are highly unsustainable.

Despite a well developed legal framework, a number of local good practices and significant national expertise, fragmentation and overlapping of responsibilities at all levels makes addressing these issues complex. Very little is achieved in implementing the existing set of policies covering human settlements and housing.

This situation has resulted in exacerbating urban poverty amidst a rapidly growing urban economy. The social unrest and instability in the cities is attributed to this gap between the rich and the poor in the urban areas.

This Country Programme Document presents an analysis of the Human Settlements and Urbanization realities in the Philippines. The development goals set forth in the end was therefore based on the analysis and the Medium Term Strategic and Institutional Plan 2008-2013.

It further outlined the strategies critical to assist the government and Habitat Agenda partners towards achieving sustainable urbanization and meeting the targets of the Millennium Development Goals.

In Rwanda, urban development goes hand in hand with migration; urban development depends essentially on the contributions of rural populations. The low urbanization rate and low urban development place Rwanda in the margin of the demographic transition trend which characterizes developing countries.

However, this urbanization dynamic is neither well understood nor fully controlled. More than 80% of the urban population lives in slums and the majority of households live under the poverty line. According to a long-term planning, Rwanda Vision 2020, the urban population growth will reach 30% in 2020 or five times in 30 years.

The Programme in Sri Lanka is based on a rich portfolio of recent and ongoing projects in the human settlements sector. Through interaction with Sri Lanka’s development partners and increasingly also humanitatian agencies, the HCPD has been prepared, including the human settlements agenda as incorporated in the UNDAF.

While for some of the proposed activities funds have been identified, there are activities in the pipeline, which still require funding.

The development of this country programme document has involved extensive consultations with the government, local authorities, the United Nations system in Senegal and civil society partners.

The process benefited from UN-HABITAT participation in the various national fora related to UNDAF development, PRSP revision, Consultative Group meetings, the CNDD, the monitoring of the MDGs as well as bilateral meetings and thematic development partner meetings.

Urbanisation in Uganda is relatively young compared to Kenya and Tanzania. The roots of urbanisation in Uganda are traced back to the 1890s when a European presence was established in the country – a period that defined Uganda’s spatial and urban development pattern.

With the building of the Kenya - Uganda Railway, economic and administrative centres was established. Nothing much has changed since this pattern was established after independence.

This UN-HABITAT Country Programme Document is prepared in the context that Vietnam is one of the first eight pilot countries for implementation of the One UN Initiative following the recommendations of the UN High Level Panel on System-Wide Coherence.

The Habitat Country Programme Document for Mozambique outlines the main objectives and priorities of UN-HABITAT. In collaboration with the government and other UN Agencies, the overall aim of this UN-HABITAT Country Programme Document is to promote the Habitat Agenda. UN-HABITAT plays an active role in urban development and urban policy.

Through partnerships with various ministries, UN-HABITAT has assisted in identifying key urban issues and areas of support that can improve the urban situation in Mozambique. An analysis of eight key sectors include: institutional set up, vulnerability reduction, governance, urban planning, housing and basic services.

The current Benin HCPD 2008/2009 is a strategic document which will help UN-HABITAT to have a coherent framework of intervention for a fruitful cooperation with Benin Government.

It succeeds to be in perfect match with the Growth for Poverty Reduction Strategic Paper (GPRSP) and its Main Action Plan (MAP), and to have taken in account the programme impact of UNDAF 2009/2013 which is being adopted.