Supporting The Development Of A National Urban Policy For Liberia – Diagnosis Phase

2.1. Project background and rationaleIn 2008, Liberia’s urban population comprised 47% of the country’s total population of 3.5 million. As of 2015, the urban population was estimated to be 50% of the country’s total population, with an annual urban population growth rate of 4.7%. The capital city, Monrovia, grew to more than 1 million people by 2010 and now comprises more than 40% of Liberia’s urban population (in the Greater Monrovia area). The proliferation and agglomeration of population poses massive sustainability challenges to Liberia’s overall development in terms of infrastructure, housing, basic services, food security, health, education, decent jobs, safety and natural resources, among others. Particularly, a combination of rapid urbanization and unplanned growth has manifested itself through the proliferation of slums, with an estimated 70% of Monrovia’s population currently living in slum conditions.The ongoing support to the Government of Liberia in developing a National Urban Policy (NUP) is a part of a broader endeavor to support, through the Cities Alliance Country Programme, poverty reduction and the development of sustainable and resilient Liberian cities. The NUP process in Liberia is anchored in close partnerships with the line Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the National Habitat Committee (NHC), the Technical Support Team (TST) for NUP, under the umbrella Cities Alliance Liberia Country Programme (CA-LCP). The necessity of developing a National Urban Policy in Liberia to assess the current urban capacity and broadly to work to fill the demand and supply gaps in the foreseeable future due to urban population growth, has been recognized as an urgent request. A coordinated effort from government, in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders, through a NUP provides the best opportunity for achieving resilient and sustainable urbanization. By linking sectorial policies, connecting national, regional and local government policies, and strengthening urban, peri-urban and rural links through integrated territorial development, a NUP enables the development of an urban vision and plan for a country. For Liberia, the NUP will aim to mitigate the above-mentioned challenges through providing a mechanism to plan for the rapid urbanization that is taking place in the country.Phase 1 of the project on Feasibility is completed. The summarised outcomes from the phase are explained below. This project focuses on Diagnosis Phase which will run for two years (2018-2019). Activities for the diagnostic phase are outlined in this proposal. The Formulation Phase will take place at a later stage and will focus on the drafting and validation of the policy with stakeholders and will have pilot demonstration projects to showcase the implementation of the Policy.