On March 24, 2025, ENA reported from Addis Ababa that this year, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) plans to gather key players in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. The aim is to enhance urban living standards via UN-Habitat’s Quality of Life Initiative.

With rapid growth of African cities, guaranteeing that this urban expansion improves living conditions continues to be a critical issue, as stated in ECA’s communication to ENA.

The Quality of Life Initiative provides local governments with the necessary data and knowledge to guarantee that growth in cities enhances the well-being of all inhabitants.

At the heart of the Initiative lies the Quality of Life Index, providing local administrations with an overview of urban living conditions across nine key areas such as accessibility to essential services, housing quality, and economic prospects.

The Index merges worldwide metrics from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with specific goals set by city stakeholders, allowing every municipality to create a customized index that mirrors its distinct circumstances, beliefs, and preferences.

This method, grounded in evidence, allows local authorities to make focused decisions and assess their exact impact, as ECA explained further.

In response to requests from participating nations, ECA plans to gather various stakeholders such as policymakers, urban planners, representatives from national statistics offices, and community leaders over the next few months. The aim is to explore key aspects of a high-quality standard of living and pinpoint areas needing enhancement.

Atkeyelsh Persson, Head of ECA’s Urbanization and Development Section, stated that Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, and Zimbabwe are leading the way in Africa’s urban transformation,

The Quality of Life Initiative, spearheaded by UN-Habitat and supported by the Quality of Life Program, is an international endeavor aimed at revolutionizing city approaches to enhancing urban well-being. This initiative utilizes human-centric data to better grasp what individuals genuinely prioritize, thereby improving their quality of life.

It has been mentioned that The Initiative encourages cities to conduct an evaluation of their inhabitants’ standard of living with the aim of pinpointing crucial sectors for observation and enhancement.