Program Details: 
Urban Programming: Meeting the Needs of the Urban Poor

For the first time in history, most of humankind resides in urban areas. Migration to cities is
increasing in every region of the world, putting stress on antiquated infrastructure, public services and traditional urban planning policies. One billion people — one-sixth of world’s
population — already live in slums, 90 percent of them in developing countries. In densely
populated urban environments, illness can quickly become epidemic; tension can spark violent conflict; lack of climatic adaptation can become catastrophic destruction. The challenges are magnified in these environments, for while urban growth generates economic opportunities and advantages for some, it accentuates the vulnerabilities of others.

Mercy Corps strives to enhance the positive contributions urbanization offers while mitigating negative impacts on basic needs, human rights and society. Mercy Corps believes the best way to catalyze change within urban environments is to help city dwellers advocate for their needs and to improve how government, community organizations and the private sector respond.

Good Governance and Urban Planning
Mercy Corps is ensuring that vulnerable populations in Colombia are represented in local
government planning sessions to increase involvement of the urban poor and internally
displaced persons (IDPs) in the decision-making processes. Since November 2007, we have been helping traditionally marginalized groups — including women, youth and people with disabilities — guarantee their increased and continued participation. For example, youth in poor neighborhoods have mobilized municipal resources to clean up litter and garbage in public spaces and initiate tree planting in barren squares and along streets. In addition, Mercy Corps is providing assistance to 400 women and 1,000 adolescents to curb domestic violence in marginal neighborhoods in Cartagena.

Economic Opportunities
In Ethiopia Mercy Corps supports a group of five female-led savings and credit cooperatives in Addis Ababa, and 30 low-income women are now receiving training and equipment to turn household trash into fuel briquettes. Their climate-friendly product is a clean, affordable energy source for households in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the rapidly growing capital city, and the project is helping these women pull their families out of poverty. This initiative was capitalized by $50,000 from Mercy Corps' Phoenix Fund, which raises private seed money from socially conscious investors to begin innovative small projects in places where aid is typically hard to access.

Climate Change and Resource Management
In Jakarta, Indonesia, climate change is leading to rising sea levels and more frequent and serious flooding, which is worsened by the buildup of urban waste that prevents drainage. Mercy Corps is helping 1,500 vulnerable urban households address flood hazards, prepare for natural disasters and mitigate damage. We also assist communities in formulating flood risk reduction strategies, developing community-based waste management systems and collaborating with local authorities to integrate flood preparation guidelines into annual local government planning processes. By the end of May 2009, Mercy Corps will expand
the project to other districts in Jakarta.

Urban-Climate-Development Network
In addition to field-based programs, Mercy Corps is a leading partner in the formation of a global network to build synergy and funding support to help communities prepare for the impact of climate change in urban environments. In October 2008, we hosted a forum for donors, practitioners and academics to identify the challenges that climate change brings to urban development.

Emergency Relief for the Poor and Displaced
People living in poverty or displaced due to natural disasters or conflict are increasingly living on the margins of rapidly growing urban centers in developing countries. Mercy Corps is providing food, blankets, shelter and health care to urban poor in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Niger, Pakistan and Tajikistan.

In Kosovo, Mercy Corps focuses on rebuilding markets and creating jobs in rural communities so that cities are not viewed as the only places where economic development is possible. In Colombia, Mercy Corps is implementing two integrated emergency humanitarian assistance projects for displaced people in the urban slums of two cities in conflict zones. These projects provide emergency food, bedding, water and sanitation, reproductive health services, psychosocial assistance and income generation for 2,000 displaced people.

Health, Water and Sanitation
Since 2006 Mercy Corps has been involved in a unique, integrated response to the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe. We have joined with six other international development agencies to assist some of the country’s most vulnerable urban populations.

Drawing upon each organization's strength, the program is addressing community-identified needs in food security, HIV/AIDS, livelihoods, education and shelter. By the end of the five-year program, the group aims to support up to 12,000 households. Mercy Corps is also working to improve access to water and sanitation facilities for up to 4,000 residents in densely populated areas of Mutare by installing or renovating water points and latrines in the city's marketplace and suburbs.

Food Security
Niger is suffering a food crisis that hits the urban poor the hardest. Urban areas rely on imported foods and rarely have access to land for subsistence agriculture. Mercy Corps is focusing on hunger in the capital through a program that aims to improve the purchasing power of the urban poor, support a wider variety of livelihoods and improve food security for families living in urban slums. By 2011, our goal is to have directly served 4,000 people, while indirectly reaching 100,000 more.