Knowledge Series on African Urban Resilience: Key Insights from 50 cities and Recommendations for Strengthening Urban Resilience Across the Continent

The African Union Commission developed the Africa Urban Resilience Programme (AURP), with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sahel Resilience Project funded by the Government of Sweden, to contribute to substantial reduction of the rising disaster losses across African cities and promote risk-informed development across the continent. The programme provides an innovative and inclusive initiative to build resilient cities in Africa.

The implementation of the AURP requires strong understanding, coordination and implementation systems to support the ongoing work of Member States and partners to ensure effective and sustainable urban resilience. As a result, the African Union Commission has partnered with UNDP and UN-Habitat under the Aqinile Partnership and collaborated with GIZ to support the implementation of the AURP. This joint effort aims to strengthen the capacity of Member States in building urban resilience.

The Knowledge Series is a result of the collaboration between AUC, UNDP, UN Habitat, GIZ and UNU EHS. It represents a continental flagship report which emphasizes integrating climate risk assessments and adaptation strategies into urban planning. By taking stock of urban resilience planning across the continent, this event will offer an actionable base to accelerate adaptation and resilience building for African cities. It also highlights the need for cities to respond not only to current risks but also prepare for future uncertainties, including rapid urbanization, migration patterns, and shifting socio-economic dynamics. The series advocates for flexible urban governance systems that can respond to both predictable and unforeseen risks, ensuring long-term sustainability.

The Knowledge Series further promotes a multi-hazard approach in building urban resilience that proactively includes marginalized groups, such as women and people with disabilities. This approach ensures that urban resilience strategies are comprehensive and adaptable to evolving risks, such as the compounded impacts of climate change, pandemics, and global economic shocks.

Session objectives

The main objective of the event is to present the findings of the urban resilience knowledge series report as a call to urgently put urban resilience on the global agenda, to derive local actions in African cities, and to introduce the African Union’s Africa Urban Resilience Programme (AURP). The event will provide valuable insights for key disaster risk reduction stakeholders and drive the following outcomes:

• Increased Awareness: Contribute to raise awareness among stakeholders on the urgent need for national governance improvements, resource allocation, and stakeholder coordination to drive urban resilience in Africa.
• Actionable stocktake of urban resilience across the continent: presentation of urban resilience stocktake from 50 urban areas with five case studies that can assist with context specific prioritisation of action  
• Fostering peer to peer learning through Best Practices: Disseminate a comprehensive resource on resilient urban development that is practical and adaptable to diverse urban contexts in Africa.
• Engagement and Collaboration: Foster deeper partnerships among international organizations, governments, local authorities, and the private sector to ensure effective implementation of urban resilience strategies.