Morocco Hosts 1st Annual Meeting of African Clean Cities
The first annual meeting of the African Platform of Clean Cities will be held in Rabat June 26-28 to share experiences on waste management and look into the best ways to fight littering and garbage heaps in African cities in a bid to boost tourism, reduce certain diseases and improve the taxpayers’ health and environment.
Delegates from over 30 African countries, international experts and representatives of NGOs will take part in the event organized by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in partnership with Moroccan authorities, UN Environment Program (UNEP), UN Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) and the City of Yokohama.
Set up in 2017, the African Clean Cites Platform seeks to promote the public-private partnership to contribute to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The platform aims to achieve “Clean and Healthy Cities in Africa” by 2030, through training, seminars, data collection, the dissemination of information and other efforts.
With economic growth and rapidly rising populations, Africa’s cities face waste management issues that are becoming more severe. Initiatives for improving urban living environments are priorities for achieving healthy living for people and maintaining sustainable growth.
The SDGs, which build on the Millennium Development Goals, are composed of 17 goals and 169 targets that encompass climate change, renewable energy and urbanization issues, which constitute challenges for the international community.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It calls on all countries and all stakeholders, to act in collaborative partnership to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
It urges the international community to reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, improve waste management and encourage sustainable consumption & production.
