By Editor

The Committee of Permanent Representatives to UN-Habitat (CPR) held its first open ended, high-level review meeting over three days in a hybrid format with 75 countries registering to join the session.

The delegates, which included five ministers and 44 partners – discussed the delivery of the UN-Habitat 2020-2023 Strategic Plan, which is grounded in the 2030 Development Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals and is currently at its midpoint.

The Committee of Permanent Representatives of UN-Habitat (CPR) convenes every two years, in an open-ended manner. It is an opportunity for Member States to provide their views, guidance and advisory to help UN-Habitat promote transformative change in cities and human settlements.

Delegates from 13 member states based in Nairobi were physically present at the meeting at the UN compound in Gigiri, which focused much of its time on the challenges and opportunities of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his speech read by the Cabinet Secretary for Lands and Physical Planning Ms. Farida Karoney, Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, said: “The Global COVID-19 pandemic has presented new socio-economic dimensions in the management of cities.