Togo
Togo, a narrow strip of land on the West African coast, is one of the smallest states in Africa. Although it is one of the world's largest producers of phosphates (which are used in fertilisers), the country remains poor and dependent on foreign aid. Poverty in Togo is mostly a rural phenomenon, with two thirds of rural households living below the poverty line in 2015. Nevertheless, poverty remains widespread in the country. The capital city Lomé accommodates over half of the urban population, with over two million citizens. More than 50 per cent of those live in slums. The population has doubled in recent years, and suburbs are expanding further north and southeast. This creates problems: inadequate waste disposal, sewage treatment and drinking water supply. In 2015, only 40 per cent of the urban population had access to improved sanitation. Togo is increasingly confronted with extreme weather, with droughts or floods following heavy rainfall as a result of climate change.
Togo joined PSUP in 2012 and launched the Program in January 2013. The country team partnered up with the NGO Recherche Action pour un Développement Intégré (RADI) for the implementation of Phase 1 of PSUP, which consists of the elaboration of national and urban profiles of the three selected cities of Lomé, Sokodé and Cinkassé. The Ministry of Urban Planning and Housing signed the agreement with UN-Habitat. A ministerial decree made the PSUP a national priority in the political agenda, sealed with a first tranche of 10 million in co-funding to implement Phase 1 of the program. The data for the urban profiles was collected through surveys and focus group discussions with community members on different urban topics such as crime, security, culture and heritage, in addition to slum conditions. Furthermore the team carried out site visits to consult community members. While analysis of data is being finalized, RADI already started slum upgrading activities in response to the priorities identified during the data collection.
The country team consists of representatives from national and municipal governments, and has received training on participative evaluation and analysis of urban environments, planning, basic services, housing and tenure. Togo has integrated the issue of informal settlements in its urban policy review and showed its commitment by co-funding the program. In addition, the Togo government committed to review the legislation on tenure.