As part of the UN Development Account (UNDA) funded project “Leaving No Place Behind – Strengthening Urban-Rural Linkages in selected countries in Africa”; a virtual regional workshop on the implementation of the project in the context of COVID-19 was held in the meeting room of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MINHDU) in Cameroon and the Republic of Guinea participated virtually. Over 40 participants from the national government, municipalities, private sector and civil society took part in the workshop.

Mr. Frédéric HAPPI Mangoua from UN-Habitat opened the session by thanking the participants for their presence. Following his introduction note, Madame LEUDJOU YAMBA Joëlle the Head of the Division of Studies, Planning and Cooperation (DEPC) in Cameroon delivered her welcome remarks and appreciated the outcome of the Cooperation Agreement signed between Cameroon and UN-Habitat on September 20, 2019 for the project “Leaving No Place Behind – Strengthening Urban-Rural Linkages in selected countries in Africa”. She then reiterated the responsibilities of all for an effective implementation of this project. Mr. Camara Ibrahima, National Director of the Land Use and Planning (DATU), Ministry of Town, Land Use and Planning of Republic of Guinea, gave his remarks before the intervention of Ms. Grace Githiri, from UN-Habitat who clarified the objectives of this workshop and hoped that it will be fruitful.

The plenary session started with a pre-workshop survey conducted by Ms. Suzanne KOUFANA. The survey results showed that the most common expectation from the participants was to be more informed about the URL project progress in different countries . Then, she presented results of the previous regional workshop on the outcomes of the UN-Habitat tools application in the context of Cameroon and Republic of Guinea. Followed by a discussion session conducted by Mr Frederic Happi Mangoua. The discussion shows that the challenges and priorities identified during the previous workshops remain unchanged, but in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and the progress of work, these may be improved. The two countries have started an inventory of policies and strategies related to URL. In Cameroon, a draft report is being reviewed by the committee.