It is estimated that up to 1 billion people live in slums in the cities of the world – one sixth of humanity – and that the numbers are rising. The UN-HABITAT Slum Upgrading Facility Pilot Programme was established in 2004 to examine ways in which innovative finance mechanisms can help address this problem. The Slum Upgrading Facility is a technical cooperation and seed capital facility with a central purpose: to test and develop new financial instruments and methods for expanding private sector finance and public sector involvement in slum upgrading on a large scale. It is funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, Norway and Sweden.

The Slum Upgrading Facility (SUF) operates under the premise that slums can be upgraded successfully when slum dwellers are involved in the planning and design of upgrading projects and able to work collaboratively with a range of other key stakeholders. Slum Upgrading Facility works with local actors to make slum upgrading projects “bankable” – that is, attractive to retail banks, property developers, housing finance institutions, service providers, micro-finance institutions, and utility companies. Slum Upgrading Facility has pilot projects in Ghana, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Tanzania, where various approaches are being tested to support the purpose of the Pilot Programme.

Housing in Thailand has generally not been considered the responsibility of local government. The National Housing Authority (NHA) was set up in 1973. Initially the work of the National Housing Authority focused on the construction of houses and flats.

Then, from 1977 into the 1980’s there was a programme of sites and service development. This was significant because it led to an acceptance that slum dwellers could stay in their existing locations rather than being relocated. Slum upgrading also began in Thailand in 1977 and has continued to evolve to the present time.

The multi-stakeholder and multi-sector approach of the Slum Upgrading Facility provides a forum for the voices of poor communities and slum dwellers to be heard.

Based on the experience of implementing the SUF pilot project in Indonesia, the first and single most important issue to resolve for slum upgrading is secure land tenure.

UN-HABITAT is one of the key partners of the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme (KENSUP). KENSUP was initiated in 2001 by the Government of Kenya (GoK), and it is complemented and supplemented by UN-HABITAT through cooperation outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding and existing project documents.

Project activities under KENSUP are taking place in Nairobi, Kisumu, Mavoko, Mombasa and Thika.

UN-HABITAT Slum Upgrading Facility Work plan 8. Explains what they are, how they will work and why they are important. A key element of the SUF Pilot Programme work is that of establishing local finance facilities with a specific remit to support slum upgrading.

These facilities are designed to improve access to credit for slum dwellers.