Anacláudia Marinheiro Centeno Rossbach of Brazil appointed as new Executive Director of UN-Habitat
Following nomination by the United Nations Secretary-General, the General Assembly, on 7 June 2024, elected Anacláudia Marinheiro Centeno Rossbach of Brazil as Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), at the Under-Secretary-General level, for a term of office of four years. Anacláudia Rossbach succeeds Maimunah Mohd Sharif of Malaysia, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated service to the organization.
UN-Habitat’s Executive Board: First meeting of 2024
The 2024 first session of the Executive Board of UN-Habitat was held from 6 to 8 May. This session included discussions on the preparations of UN-Habitat’s Strategic Plan 2026-2029, emphasizing the incorporation of recommendations from the OIOS mid-term evaluation of the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan; updates on the progress leading up to the twelfth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF12), scheduled to take place in Cairo, Egypt, from 4 to 8 November 2024; and a briefing on the implementation of the resolutions adopted by the second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly in June 2023, highlighting that limited new funding remains a significant challenge.
UN-Habitat to focus on urban recovery in Ukraine
UN-Habitat’s Acting Executive Director, Michal Mlynár, visited Ukraine to formalize UN-Habitat’s engagement with the Government of Ukraine. This visit – the first ever by a UN-Habitat Executive Director – establishes the UN-Habitat presence in Kyiv.
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Global Footprints of UN-Habitat . . .
Overcoming water scarcity in Jordan
Irbid, Jordan, was chosen as a water-focused project target area due to its population growth, displacement issues, droughts, extreme heat, and changing rainfall patterns. The project aims to relieve pressure on natural water sources and enhance access to water from unconventional sources for city residents.
Building back better: Recovering from disasters in Afghanistan
In October 2023, Herat province in western Afghanistan was rocked by three powerful earthquakes, each with a magnitude of 6.5. These quakes wreaked havoc across nine districts, directly affecting over 275,000 people. In response to this crisis, UN-Habitat and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) embraced the ‘Building Back Better’ approach. The objective was not only to restore but also to enhance the community’s infrastructure, ensuring it would be more resilient to future disasters.
“We have equal rights to the city”: How green spaces in São Paulo are becoming more inclusive
Recognizing the importance of inclusive public spaces, UN-Habitat and the Municipal Secretariat of Green and the Environment (SVMA) of the São Paulo municipality launched the Viva o Verde SP initiative – a collaboration aiming to evaluate and improve the accessibility of parks in São Paulo.
Financial Highlights
Upcoming Events and Meetings
High-Level Political Forum
8 – 17 July 2024
New York, USA
Innovate4Cities Conference
10 – 12 September 2024
Montreal, Canada
Summit of the Future
22 – 23 September 2024
New York, USA
Twelfth session of the World Urban Forum
4 – 8 November 2024
Cairo, Egypt