Background and objectives:

Somali cities find themselves rebuilding after years of conflict and at the same time responding to various ongoing emergencies. The SUDP targets all major towns in the three Somali regions, through the implementation of tangible projects and capacity-building activities in the Urban Development Sector. The programme is designed to benefit from the comparative advantages of the consortium partners, including the political leadership and overall support of UNDP in the field, the operational expertise and coordination of UN-HABITAT, and the specialisations of the other implementing partners.

The programme recognises the growing importance of the urban sector, both demographically and economically, in Somalia and aims at promoting an increasingly democratic, inclusive and accountable system of governance as well as more efficient and socially effective local management practices. In a fast changing political scene, the SUDP targets primarily building of management capacities of local authorities, civil society and community organizations, while assisting central and regional administrations in establishing the main legal and institutional instruments of governance.

The main objective is to contribute to the social and economic recovery of Somalia by providing urban governance and management instruments conducive to equitable growth, enhanced financial sustainability, improved access to land and basic services, a growing process of democratic decision making, public accountability and transparency.

Activities:
The main activities included:

Support to legal and institutional reforms for the urban sector and the improvement of urban land management systems

• Municipal governance capacity building, civil society and community participation
• Donor co-ordination and programming for the urban sector
• Municipal capacities in strategic urban planning and development control
• Municipal finance training and local economic development.
• Basic urban service delivery and maintenance, and
• Implementation of strategic local projects to upgrade urban services and infrastructure

Results:
The results achieved were:

• Improved capacities of local authorities to develop urban governance and management
• Improved layouts and planning of main Somali settlements
• Improved regulatory and legislative framework to enhance urban development
• Urban services, such as waste management systems, public markets, slaughterhouses, etc improved and upgraded
• Coordination and development of new urban development initiatives