Kigali - Kumasi, a tale of two cities innovating water and sanitation

Date:  Tuesday 4^th April 2023

Time:  12:00 noon GMT, 14:00 pm Kigali time

To participate online, please register here:

https://undp.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpcemvqT8vG9ADdzBMxSUIn8fXqq1YcBjD

Background

Rapid urbanization in the African continent has increased the number of people living in slums, where one of the most present challenges is the access to water and sanitation.

Two African cities are creating innovative solutions to address the problem, Kumasi in Ghana, and Kigali in Rwanda are leading the efforts in ensuring access to proper water and sanitation for all their residents.

Both cities were winners of the 2021 Global Mayors Challenge, an innovation competition that supports and spreads cities’ most promising ideas.

Kumasi is addressing the lack of adequate private toilets by training unemployed youth to build low-cost toilets for households. On the other hand, Kigali is introducing a comprehensive solution that utilizes innovations in stormwater capture, flood mitigation and smart waste-sensor technologies to reduce residents’ dependency on commercial water and keep solid waste from polluting the water supply.

Join us to share the experiences and challenge of these two cities and learn how they apply innovation to build sustainable cities. The session aims to inspire mutual learning and provide participants with useful solutions to apply to their own cities.

Topics:

• Building inclusive, affordable and sustainable cities.
• Leveraging innovation for urban transformation.

Proposed questions for presenters

1. What challenges have you faced in your attempt to leverage innovation in providing essential services, such as waste, water and sanitation?
2. Kindly share some of the lessons you have learnt whilst implementing your project.
3. As government engagement with citizens continues to evolve, what approaches are you taking to involve citizens in promoting innovation in basic services?
4. One of the challenges innovators providing basic services face is funding. What funding mechanisms can a government employ, and how can these be structured to support innovation?