The African Development Bank (AfDB) and its partners, the Urban and Municipal Development Fund (UMDF) and the Korea–Africa Economic Cooperation, have launched the pilot phase of its Cities Diagnostics tool in five African cities.
The Cities Diagnostics programme is funded by the UMDF, which helps African cities and municipalities improve their resilience and manage urban growth and development better through better planning and governance, more efficient public services, as well as improving the quality of life in urban environments in Africa.
The tool can measure and assess inclusiveness and resilience parameters, strategies, municipal resource mobilisation, investments and public accounts administration.
The pilot phase, which will be completed in 2020, will include Antananarivo, in Madagascar; Bizerte, in Tunisia; Conakry, in Guinea; Dodoma, in Tanzania; and Libreville, in Gabon.
“The new Cities Diagnostics tool will enable city managers and development partners to have a clear understanding of the situation in all the various subsectors of the city and allow us to prioritise our work,” AfDB Infrastructure and Urban Development director Amadou Oumarou said in a statement issued on Monday.
The diagnostic tool includes key environmental and urban sustainability indicators, two baseline studies covering disaster risk and vulnerability, as well as urban footprint growth.
It also includes a public opinion survey covering accessibility and quality of municipal services for water, sanitation and electricity.
Drainage, solid waste management and other measures of quality of life in cities are also measured.