The Role of Urban Grassroots Organizations and Their National Federations in Reducing Poverty and Achieving the Millennium Development Goals

This article is about the role of local organizations in achieving significant improvements in their lives and thus in contributing to Target 11 of the Millennium Development Goals (to achieve significant improvements in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020). This article is also about the role of these federations in reducing poverty. The work of the urban poor and homeless federations in Asia and Africa is perhaps the most significant initiative today in these regions in addressing urban poverty – both in terms of what they have achieved and in terms of what they can achieve, given appropriate financial and administrative support.

In at least 12 nations, these federations are engaged in many community-driven initiatives to upgrade slums and squatter settlements, to develop new housing that low-income households can afford, and to improve provision for infrastructure and services (including water, sanitation, and drainage). They also are supporting their members to develop more stable livelihoods, and working with governments to show how city redevelopment can avoid evictions and minimize relocations. Comparable federations are expanding in other nations. Many city governments, along with some national governments and international agencies, have supported these community-driven approaches, increasing the scope of what is possible.
The foundations for these federations are thousands of savings groups formed and managed by urban poor groups. Women are particularly attracted to these groups because they provide emergency credit quickly and easily; their savings also can accumulate and help fund housing improvements or employment generation. These savings groups are the building blocks of what begins as a local process and develops into citywide and national federations. These groups not only manage savings and credit efficiently, but their collective management of money and the trust it builds within each group increases their capacity to work together on housing and related initiatives.