International

United Nations Says 1.4m People Migrate To Cities Weekly

By: Africaprimenews

Date:

Migration
a large group of people moving from one geographical location to another (Photo: exploredia)

 

The UN says no fewer than 1.4 million people migrate every week to cities around the world.

Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the weekly migration could contribute to “disasters”.

The UN chief said the development “can strain local capacities, contributing to increased risk from natural and human made disasters”.

In his message for World Cities Day, celebrated annually on Oct. 31, Guterres stressed that “hazards do not need to become disasters”.

“The answer is to build resilience – to storms, floods, earthquakes, fires, pandemics and economic crises,” he said.

Guterres explained that cities around the world were doing just that, forging new ways to increase resilience and sustainability.

He noted that the capital of Thailand, Bangkok has built vast underground water storage facilities to cope with increased flood risk and save water for drier periods.

In Quito, the capital of Ecuador in South America, local government has reclaimed or protected more than 200,000 hectares of land to boost flood protection, reduce erosion and safeguard the city’s freshwater supply and biodiversity, he noted.

The UN chief also indicated that the city of Johannesburg in South Africa “is involving residents in efforts to improve public spaces so they can be safely used for recreation, sports, community events and services such as free medical care”.

Guterres said a range of UN-backed international agreements provided “a roadmap for a more sustainable and resilient world”.

The agreements include the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the New Urban Agenda

World Cities Day was established by the UN to promote the international community’s interest in global urbanisation, push forward cooperation among countries in meeting opportunities and addressing challenges of urbanisation, and contributing to sustainable urban development around the world.

Maimunah Sharif, Executive Director of the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat), flagged the importance of investing in resilience or face growing “economic, social, political and human” risks.

“It has been estimated that without action on climate change – which accounts for just one facet of resilience – some 77 million urban residents risk falling into poverty,” she warned.

Sharif elaborated that human-made and environmental threats ranged from droughts, floods and fires to economic shocks, disease outbreaks, war and migration.

“Investing in resilience is a wise investment,” the UN Habitat chief said.

The theme of the 2018 commemoration, ‘Building Sustainable and Resilient Cities’, focuses on the need to preserve human life and limit damage and destruction while continuing to provide infrastructure and services after a crisis.

NAN

Previous article
Researchers Discover New Nanomaterial For Early Detection Of Alzheimer’s Disease
Next article
Nigeria: UN Launches Radio Awareness Programme On Perils Of Migration
Africaprimenews
Africaprimenewshttps://www.africaprimenews.com

125 COMMENTS

Leave a Reply to Michaelexity Cancel reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share post:

Popular

More like this
Related

ICD Provides EUR 20M Shariah-Compliant Facility to Boost Turkish SMEs

Africaprimenews Africaprimenews -
By Sunday Elijah, Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Türkiye...

Israel Agrees To Trump’s Peace Plan To End War In Gaza – Netanyahu

News Editor News Editor -
... Apologizes to Qatar Over Recent Strike After Gaza peace...

Netanyahu Seeks More Time To Finish Crushing Hama’s “Terror Machine”

News Editor News Editor -
... Denies Genocide Accusation Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu at...

At Least 20 Senior Iranian Commanders Killed During Israeli’s Targeted Attacks On Nuclear Infrastructure

News Editor News Editor -
Israel’s targeted attacks on Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure early...

About us

Africa Prime News is an online news platform whose mission is to provide high-quality development journalism about Africa.

Company

The latest

Nigeria to Strengthen Protective Measures on Safety For Women, Girls

Rights 0
By Justina Auta Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening...

UN Commits to Strengthening Nigeria’s  Policy Framework, Enhancing Digital Safety

ICT 0
By Justina Auta The UN Women has reaffirmed its commitment...

AMDF Conf. Tasks Media To Discard Sensationalism For Solution Journalism

Development 0
  Participants at the 9th Africa Conference on Development Journalism...

Subscribe

© 2021 tagDiv. All Rights Reserved. Made with Newspaper Theme.

Enable Notifications OK No thanks