Many residents in African cities face considerable challenges relating to health, nutrition and wellbeing, along with marginalisation or exclusion in accessing healthcare – especially those living in poverty. Yet these difficulties are often masked within wider data and policy debates by the so-called “urban advantage”.

Poor access to clean water, sanitation and affordable quality health services, as well as malnutrition, have made many people living in African cities – particularly in informal settlements – vulnerable to communicable diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the extent of health vulnerabilities in cities and the wider consequences for national and global health security, along with the fragility of food and nutrition security in many urban centres.

Improving integration between multiple city systems – including healthcare, food, water and sanitation, waste management, energy and spatial planning – is key to securing better health, wellbeing and nutrition outcomes for residents in African cities. This domain looks at the political dimensions underlying the ability of governments to provide affordable, higher quality health services and food, exploring potential policy approaches and interventions to improve access and availability.

Within the health, wellbeing and nutrition domain, we are focusing on the following cities:

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Amplifying local voices to influence climate policy in Harare

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The impacts of climate change are already exacerbating the challenges posed by urbanisation in Africa. For informal settlements, the capacity for resilience remains critically low, leaving them highly vulnerable to both natural and human-made hazards. In response, communities of low-income urban residents are coming up with innovative climate-resilient solutions through locally driven climate adaptation initiatives.

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